


Day's End [ABANDONED]

by FallenSoldiers



Category: The Walking Dead (Comics), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Allie Tavrin (Alive), Andre (Alive), Azalia Moore (Alive), Brie (Deceased), Burned and Torn, Chapter Four, Chapter one, Chapter three, Chapter two, Charlotte Montgomery (Alive), Cipher (Deceased), Companionship, Crossroads, Danger on the Road, Dr. Rowley/George Rowley (Deceased), Dr. Winters/Ren Winters (Alive), Elizabeth Arma (Alive), FTF, Fanfiction, Fear is Why We're Still Here, Gen, Hailey Faust (Deceased), Horsiess, Infectious, Innocence and Guilt, Jenna Welling (Alive), Joseph Ross (Deceased), Kegan Ross (Unknown), Known and Unknown, Kristen Addison (Deceased), Lafayette Moore (Alive), Lea Aneko (Deceased), Liar Liar - Freeform, Lidia Gale (Deceased), Life's Timer, Lost not Found, Madison Guard (Alive), Maria Ross (Deceased), Mark (Alive), Mary Edmund (Unknown), Micheal Beck (Deceased), Natalie Smith (Alive), OC, Old Friends, Other, Rachelle Lancaster (Alive), Regan Layne (Alive), Rose Tristen (Deceased), Run now, Shared Sorrows, Sidney Ross (Alive), Skylar Addison (Deceased), Stray Sheep (as well as some sheep metaphors bc im classy like that), Team, Tiffany (Alive) and Jo (Alive/Newborn) Belrose, To Be Alive Again, Too Young for a World like This, Where We Roam, William Mathias (Deceased), apocalyptic, the walking dead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-27
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-04-28 12:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 51,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5090117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenSoldiers/pseuds/FallenSoldiers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>See "Running in Circles" for a re-write.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Infectious

        I sighed monotonously as my feet hung over the edge of a roof of some building. I've never been good with stress. I go into a panic attack and snap, but I only discovered this recently, though. I am Natalie Smith, 21 years old, and this is how my life went to hell.   
         Natalie stuck to the left side of the road as she sulked through the abandoned streets of a city she was forced to relocate to. Not for any financial or family-related reasons, but, instead, Natalie was forced by a horde of the living dead. Yup, you heard correctly. She doesn't know how it happened, but it's been about two years to her knowledge. So many of her friends and acquaintances have given way to the 'infection' that she lost count a long time ago.   
           'Walkers,' as she had dubbed them, clumsily stumbled over fallen signs and wooden beams, hardly taking any notice of her. She had a dark green backpack strapped to her back, holding a half-full water bottle, a jar of peanut butter she had been saving, and, in the side pocket, her red, retractable fire department knife a friend had given her. Natalie came across a run-down car, and she peeked through the cracked side window, finding a walker still strapped with a seatbelt. The walker slowly looked up and moaned, sticking its flimsy arms in an attempt to attack her. Natalie decided to leave the walker and continued wandering the streets.   
              Natalie stopped suddenly, staring up longingly at the run-down sign of a grocery store. With excitement building up in her, she ran towards the entrance, praying that no-one had yet raided or claimed the store. She reached the doors and noticed she had caught the attention of a few walkers nearby. Her hands started to shake, and a pit of dread started to form in her stomach. "Crap.." She muttered, quickly pulling out her knife. She shakily broke the lock with the blade of her knife and rushed in, unintentionally slamming the doors closed. Natalie desperately looked around, trying to find something to block the door with. Although she knew she could take on two walkers, she didn't want to take any chances, especially when she thought about past mistakes. Disappointingly, the store was small, but there was a fallen cabinet beside the door. She rushed to its side, vainly pushing it to the door's base. Once she was satisfied with her barricade, she moved on further into the store.   
               She slid her backpack off, cramming it with some water bottles and some of her favorite foods. She picked it up, testing its weight. Natalie decided she could carry a few more things, so she decided to pack in some medical supplies. Stooping to pick up painkillers from the floor, she stuffed it into the same pocket her knife sat comfortably in. Her hands froze, still holding the bottle, as she heard a gun click behind her. Natalie felt her rapid heartbeat, and that familiar pit settled again. A deep voice sounded behind her, "Put the bag and bottle down and turn around." Her hands shook as she limply dropped the bottle, slid the backpack off, and cautiously turned around.   
               Natalie faced a tall male wielding the gun that had prevented her looting. He bore dark brown, shaggy hair, blue-almost grey eyes, and a subtle beard. Her voice caught in her throat, and she felt unable to move or speak. The man spoke again, "Do you have any weapons on you?" His request took a few hesitant seconds to process in Natalie. She shook her head quickly, once able to. He nodded behind her, signaling to his companion. Her bag was quickly snagged from its spot by a female wielding another gun. The woman bore similarities to the man, such as hair and eye color, so Natalie assumed they were related in some way.   
                 The woman put her gun in her pocket, unzipping Natalie's backpack and searching through the things she had looted. The woman had taken out most of her stuff when the glint of Natalie's red knife caught her eye. She put the bag down and took the knife out, studying the worn out writing on the blade. "Fire department, huh?" The woman inquired with a raspy, but surprisingly gentle, voice.   
"I-I.. My f-friend gave it to me.." Natalie responded, stuttering out of sheer nervousness.   
The male became weary. "Friend? Are they here?" He asked, looking around.   
"N-No, I'm alone.. She's d-dead.."  
"Not as surprising as it should be nowadays," the woman responded, seemingly more lenient. "I think," she smirked, "I'll have to hold onto this knife for ya, though."  
"B-but.." Natalie started.  
The woman interrupted, "Sky, put your gun down; she's defenseless."  
"You're sure, sis?"  
"Yeah." She turned to Natalie, holding the knife up and seemingly mocking her. "You'll come with us just in case." The woman pocketed the knife and instead held onto her gun. "Oh, by the way, I'm Kristen. You?"  
"N-Natalie.."  
"Okay. Sky, carry her bag; she had some nice stuff in there."  
                     Kristen moved Natalie's makeshift barricade. The walkers she had blocked off wandered away by then, but there were more than before wandering the streets. "C'mon, now, you don't want to get eaten alive." She waved Natalie and her brother, whom Natalie would know as Skyler, over to her and exited the store. Natalie was ushered along by Skyler, right behind Kristen, who lead them to a run-down tower, with a wooden board loosely covering a hole in the side of a wall. Yes, this was indeed how Natalie's life went to hell.


	2. Team

            Skyler and Kristen brought Natalie to the tower, but, along the way, they had forced Natalie to kill walkers they had caught the attention of. When the trio reached the right side of the tower, close to a wooden fence, Skyler removed the flimsy board, revealing a whole in the wall barely big enough for Sky to fit in to. Immediately inside was a staircase that towered upwards. On each floor were doors leading to different rooms, and the siblings lead Natalie to the third floor. Kristen silently opened the door with the number '6' on it and walked in, throwing Natalie's backpack into the corner of the room.   
             Mold was starting to inhabit the room's walls, and the pain was peeling off, showing the bare wood underneath. The room was small compared to what one would have in a normal house and was seemingly used for storage in the past. There was a large cabinet that touched the ceiling when erected, but it was knocked over, blocking access to a corner of the room. There was a tattered, scarred bow sitting atop the cabinet; Natalie guessed this belonged to the blonde woman that sat next to it. Empty and filled pill bottles, water bottles, and food cans were set in the far right corner of the room, and they signaled the group had been here for a while by the sheer amount. There were bullet shells scattered on the floor along with a gun which was loaded with only one bullet. She noticed there was blood and bits of torn flesh just outside the door and on the door frame, but she decided not to question it.   
              Kristen pointed to a small mattress by the door and spoke up, "Sit there." Natalie brought herself out of her panicked state and obeyed the command. Skyler sat next to the gun on the floor, picking it up and holding both guns in either hand. The girl sitting on the fallen cabinet spoke in a quiet but powerful voice, "Who's this?"  
Kristen answered almost immediately, "This is Natalie; we found her scavenging at the store while we were there."  
"Why'd you bring her here?"  
"Well, there's only three of us, and there's strength in numbers..." Kristen paused before adding, "Plus, she had a lot of food in her bag."  
The blonde woman stood up and looked through Natalie's bag, taking out things she had found. "Does she even have a weapon?" The woman tilted the bag, spilling everything inside.   
"Be careful, Rose! And, yes, she does.." Kristen pulled Natalie's knife out of her pocket, holding it up for Rose.  
Rose smirked, which was rather creepy, and took the knife, studying it. "Sweet.."  
Natalie's gaze snapped to Rose. "H-Hey, that's my knife!"  
Said woman looked at her unamused. "Yeah, I know."  
Natalie looked at her, not knowing how to respond.   
Kristen took the knife out of Rose's hand and gave it back to Natalie. "Hey!" Rose shouted.  
"Might as well be able to protect yourself if you're going to be with us," Kristen said, looking down at Natalie and smiling hollowly.   
"Thanks.." Natalie took the knife and rubbed the hilt with her thumb, as if trying to comfort it. The backpack thrown on the floor caught Natalie's attention. "But, my bag.." She trailed off.  
"You can have that back," Rose said, throwing it on the mattress next to Natalie. "But the food belongs to all of us now."  
She looked down, grabbing the bag and putting it on her lap. "Yeah.. Of course."  
            Rose picked up a can of peaches that Natalie had found, opened it, and ate straight out of the can with her fingers. Skyler glanced at the contents of the bag spewed out on the floor and picked up a small box of cereal, and Kristen picked up a chocolate bar. Rose looked up at the pile and muttered, "You have the most random crap in there.."  
"I got what I could," Natalie voiced, defending herself.  
"She's right, Rose. This 'random crap' could save our lives."  
Rose scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. I'll be bitten before I rely on some stranger for survival!"  
"You rely on us," Skyler retorted with a slight chuckle.  
"I don't see it like that.." Rose whined, resuming eating her peaches.  
"How do you see it, then?"   
She shrugged and remained silent.   
            After a while of silence, Kristen put the leftover food back in Natalie's bag and tossed it back over to her when she was done. She picked up one of Skyler's loaded guns and faced the small group. "Now that we have Natalie with us, we should.. attempt to move again."  
"Again?" Natalie asked cautiously.  
"Yeah.. Last time we tried, we were pushed back by a horde of walkers."  
"What makes you think one person is going to change anything?" Rose inquired, apparently choosing to be negative.   
Kristen shrugged. "Maybe it won't, but we need to get to a less-populated area; that way, there'll be less walkers."  
"But, there will probably be more survivors there, because that's probably the same thought process everyone else has," Skyler put in.   
"If there are any other survivors," Rose muttered.   
Kristen sighed. "Still, we need to go. What do you think, Natalie?"  
Natalie was pulled out of her thoughts and responded, "Yeah, we should go. I know somewhere in the countryside we could go."  
"Where?" Kristen asked, clearly interested.  
"I used to go to this horse stable in the summer, and there was a house the owners could live in near the stables."  
"Okay.. Yeah, that's a start. We should head out towards the country and look for that place. If we find anything else along the way, that's a bonus!"  
"Don't have any other plan," Skyler commented while shrugging.  
Rose closed her eyes and stood up, picking up her bow and her quiver full of arrows. "Fine."  
"Good!" Kristen cried out happily.  
             After ordering everyone to gather the group's things, Kristen made sure they had gotten everything they needed and made sure they all had weapons. Skyler made sure the three guns were loaded, took two, and gave Kristen one. Natalie clutched onto her knife, and Rose prepared her bow. The small group made their way down the three flights of stairs, and Skyler moved the thin wooden board and killed two walkers that were right outside. The reckless shooting had caught the attention of three walkers behind them and two walkers in front of them. A short walker stumbled towards Natalie, and her hands froze in panic. Rose and Skyler killed the two in front of them, and Kristen killed a walker behind them. The gunshot triggered an action from Natalie, and she rushed to the walker in front of her, plunging the blade into the side of its skull. The ridges on the edge of the knife snagged on bone and flesh, rendering the knife stuck. The taller walker lumbered towards her as she struggled with the knife. Before it could get anywhere near her, Skyler shot its head, immediately killing it. Kristen looked around the corner of the alley the exit lead to. "Okay, guys. Let's go."


	3. Danger on the Road

          The four-membered group ran along the side of the building they had inhabited, trying to avoid catching the attention of any nearby walkers. Rose noticed a crashed car further up ahead and noted the rest of the group, "Hey, there's a car up ahead," she whispered. "Should we see what's in it?" Skyler and Kristen looked ahead, nodding. Kristen put her gun in her pocket, jogging up with Rose to the car, but Natalie and Skyler stayed a distance behind. Kristen reached the car first, and, as she looked through the driver's window, a walker inside the car stretched its arms out, grabbing her wrist with the intent to pull her in.   
          She yelled in surprise before shouting for help, "Rose! Sky!" Though, with all her yelling, she caught the attention of a few nearby walkers. Rose ran to her aid, shooting the oncoming walkers. She used an arrow to pierce the walker's brain through the temple. Kristen pulled her arm out of the dead walker's grip. Small shards of glass poked her skin, but she was really bothered by the bloody marking the walker made. Shallow teeth marks were engraved on her skin, and she knew exactly what that meant. Skyler ran up to them, Natalie in pursuit. "Dammit!" Skyler swore, not waiting for Kristen or Rose to say somthing.  
"We should continue going," Kristen suggested.  
"But you're bitten!" Natalie suddenly shouted, nervousness bottling up inside her once more.  
"No shit, Natalie!" Skyler scolded, clearly angered by his sister's inevitable death.  
"When the time comes, you can do what you need to do, but, for now, there's now reason to hold up for me," Kristen solemnly said.  
"I agree," Rose said, nodding. "Sky, I understand, but this is normal now, so before you throw a tantrum, we need to go." Rose pointed to the oncoming walkers to emphasize her point before shooting two of them with her bow.  
          Not one for drama, Skyler obliged, running through the street with his small group, killing walkers along the way. Within a few hours, the group approached the road that lead to their destination. Kristen was starting to feel weak by this point and starting to get slightly pale. Her bite was passed amputation now; the virus was coursing through her veins, reaching her vital organs and destroying them from the inside out. Skyler helped her along, refusing assurance from the others.  
           They crossed an elevated road, but the grop came to a sudden halt, as they were faced with cars crashed into each other; their windows were shattered, and the coating of paint was peeling off the sides of the doors. A walker moaned, craning its neck to look at the oncoming living. It staggered towards them, tripping over its half torn open foot. Rose didn't hesitate as she released an arrow, impaling the walker's skull. It slumped on the ground, just a mass of decaying flesh. Another walker pulled the top half of its former body from the back of an open freighter truck. Its organs trailed behind, splattering the road with blood and other fluids. Rose let another arrow fly, killing it instantly.   
           There was a surprisingly small amount of walkers as the group traversed the massive crash. Rose slit her hand on a jagged piece of glass, but the rest made it out unharmed. Skyler bandaged Rose's hand with a piece of cloth he had torn from his shirt. Rose led the group as they approached the exit of the city, and only a big forest and green, rolling hills were all that could be seen.  
            They looked around, admiring the scenery as they walked on a countryside road. Suddenly, Rose stopped and turned to the group. "I'm kind of thirsty," she said curtly.  
"So?" Skyler asked impatiently.   
"I saw a nearby river in the forest. Kristen should come with me; water would do her good."  
"Is it safe to go?" He inquired cautiously.  
"Yes, I don't think there are any walkers there."  
Skyler turned to Natalie.  
Natalie shrugged and replied, "I didn't see any."  
"Fine."   
            Skyler let Kristen lean on Rose, and they soon disappeared into the forest. Skyler and Natalie waited on the side of the road for about five minutes before they saw Rose approaching. The first, most notable thing was that she was alone. Rose held in her right hand a bloodied arrow, and her hands were splattered with blood. Skyler visibly tensed up, and the familiar pit of despair settled in Natalie's chest. "Where's Kristen?" Skyler demanded, hand protectively gripped around the handle of his gun.  
Rose looked down, as if ashamed.   
"Where the hell is she?!" He demanded again, this time more aggressively.   
Rose sighed and responded quietly but firmly, "I killed her."  
"You.." Skyler trailed off, drawing his gun quickly.  
            A gunshot could be heard as Skyler squeezed the trigger, aimed right at Rose. Natalie flipped her knife's blade up and struck it down on the gun a split second before the trigger was pulled. Rose hesitated before plunging the same arrow she used to kill Kristen through Skyler's throat while he was distracted. He fell to the ground, his blood splattering over the cement of the road, painting it scarlet. Rose pulled the arrow out and thrust it through his temple. She tried to pull the arrow out but struggled, as it was stuck on something. It finally gave way, and small pieces of his brain and optical nerve were twisted on the tip. Natalie turned and retracted her knife, putting it in her backpack. Rose put the arrow back in its quiver, too disgusted to clean it but unable to discard it. "We should go," Rose grimly stated.  
Natalie nodded in agreement, too shaken to say anything.  
She looked at Natalie, slightly worried. "You do know why I did that, right?"  
Natalie simply stared at Rose.  
"It's kill or be killed, Natalie. He would've killed me. Thanks for that, by the way."  
Natalie nodded again.  
"Which way did you say the stables were?"  
"There a-about two miles from here.."  
"Let's get going."   
             Just like that, the past group of four was split in half by death itself, and the two sole survivors walked solemnly down the road, leaving behind the corpse of the last member to be killed. The ventured the two miles dictated by Natalie, and the gravel road leading up to their haven was soon in sight. The black fence that used to house horses was the only thing that separated them from the farmhouse. The hopped the fence gate that required a code to open and made their way to the entrance of the large house. Rose made sure there were no walkers immediately inside, and they slowly entered, weapons at the ready. Rose scoured the house for walkers, and Natalie searched for any left over supplies. Rose killed three walkers; two inside the master bedroom, and one hanging from a noose in the attic. Natalie found some food stored away in the cabinets.  
             Rose descended from the second floor and laid her bow against a torn-up couch. She took notice of the food Natalie had found and suggested that they should search the stables next. Natalie agreed and asked her if she found anything. Rose told her of the two in the bedroom, but left out the one in the attic. They waited until the sun settled on the horizon before they went to sleep. Rose slept on the couch on the first floor, and Natalie slept in the bed on the second floor. The next morning they would explore their new territory, but, for now, the survivors would get the rest they hadn't been able to for days unending.


	4. Companionship

           The sun painted the sky a warm orange color as it peeked over the horizon. Natalie's eyes fluttered open as she shifted in her sheets, unprepared to get up and face the doomed world. She heard Rose's footsteps as she laid awake in bed, so she got up, groggily opening the door and stumbling out. Rose's gaze snapped to Natalie when she heard the door opening. "Natalie?" She cautiously inquired.  
"Yeah?" Natalie said, tiredness evident in her tone.   
"Just making sure it's you. I'm going to scope out the stable; if you want to come, you'll know where to find me."  
             Natalie made her way down the stairs, and Rose exited the house after saying goodbye. Once Rose was outside, she looked around at her surroundings. Pastures surrounded by black fences were completely empty, except for the walkers stumbling and crawling through the field. The stable, the roof starting to cave in, was decently big and held an arena at the far right, separated from the stables by a gravel road. Rose trekked over to the stable, and she found many large stalls, most empty with the doors falling off their hinges. She spotted movement in a stall in the far right corner of the run-down stable, and she prepared her bow for attack.   
              A dead walker, terribly mutilated, laid in the stall next to a horse, blood splattered on its hooves. Rose only ever worked with horses once, but this kind of horse was easily identifiable. A Clydesdale mare stood in front of her, nervously pacing the stall. She was a beautiful bay color, and her hooves were decorated with long feathers and white stockings. A white blaze adorned her face, and her dark brown, expressive eyes gave away her fear. Once she became aware of Rose's presence, she backed up, ears pinned back on her head. Rose looked around, seeing only rotting horse corpses. Some were currently being feasted upon by walkers, but some were left untouched. Rose guessed some of the horses had died of starvation or dehydration, which made her question how the mare had managed to stay alive. She looked back at the blood staining the mare's hooves and realized that it was fresh blood. On the stall door was posted a sign that read: "Cipher." The wooden sign was cracked and starting to house mold, but Rose guessed that this was the mare's name.   
              Rose slowly held out her hand, allowing the mare to become familiar with her scent. Cipher calmed down, now realizing she was in the presence of a living human, but she still paced, having been cooped up in a stall for months. Rose noted that Cipher was wearing a large, dark green halter still in decent condition. Rose remembered that they used lead ropes to guide the horses, but, looking around, she couldn't see one immediately around her. She could lead the horse without the lead rope, but she decided to find one, just to be safe.   
               Rose left the horse, traveling to the arena not far from the stables. Inside, there were jumps set up, but the poles on some of the jumps had been knocked off. On the very far side of the arena was a large door, sealed by what looked like a lead rope. She ran up to the door, quickly untying the rope, and she soon realized why the door had been tied shut. A walker fell at her feet, and four other walkers were surrounding her. The walkers stood there for a second, but, all at once, they soon realized what they were staring at. The walker that fell grabbed her ankle, but she reacted in time and stabbed an arrow through its skull. The other four she didn't bother to kill, so she just ran and hurriedly closed the doors opposite of the walkers.   
                She held the red lead rope and walked back to the stables, opening the doors to face the decaying wood. Rose hooked the lead rope onto Cipher's halter and opened the stall door. Cipher rushed out, but the mare soon realized Rose was in control of her movement. Rose gripped the rope tighter, after witnessing how strong Cipher was. She made a clicking noise, and Cipher recognized this as a signal to move, which she readily did. Rose moved with the horse, watching Cipher's muscles ripple as she walked.    
                 Once the pair exited the stables, Cipher whinnied at the joy of seeing the pastures outside. Rose was unsure whether she should let the mare into the pasture, fearing that there may be walkers. Instead, she decided to ride the mare, if only she had a saddle and bridle. She could ride the horse bare back and guide her with her mane, but Rose decided to tell Natalie about her find first. She contemplated tying Cipher to the fence but worried that walkers might be able to get to her. So, Rose lead Cipher to the stairs leading to the porch and let go of the lead rope, and Cipher surprisingly waited patiently, not running off despite having been in a stall for months.   
                   Rose walked inside the house and called for Natalie, who came down the stairs in seconds. "Yes, Rose?" Natalie asked quietly.  
"I found a mare in the stables. Want to see her?"  
                   Natalie smiled, rushing outside to see the horse, who she recognized from years of riding. Cipher looked up at Natalie and continued grazing, not having any noticeable reaction to her. Rose walked up next to Natalie and asked, "So, do you think you can teach me to ride?"  
Natalie looked at her questionably. "You want to know?"  
"Yeah.. We have a horse, and she'll be pretty useful."  
Natalie nodded and slowly advanced toward the mare, who tolerated her presence. "Did you see any saddles?"  
"No, but can't you ride horses bare back?"  
"Yeah, It's just harder to do than with saddles."  
Rose sighed, having never actually ridden a horse before. "We'll see what we can do."  
"Are you sure you want to do this, Rose? We could-"  
"I don't really think I have a choice, do I?" Rose snapped, turning back to Cipher who just continued to graze.   
"Sorry.." Natalie whispered. "I think we can use her halter as a bridle; I've seen it done before."  
"Well, we have to, Natalie. The barn's infested with walkers, but, luckily, they were distracted."  
"Distracted?" Natalie questioned, cocking her head to the side. "Distracted by what?"   
"The other horses," Rose responded, her voice laced with slight disgust. "But we should take care of the mare we have while we still have her. Let's get started then, shall we?"


	5. Lost and Found

        "Rose, don't be so tense," Natalie calmly corrected. Rose did as instructed, loosing up her grip on the lead rope reins as Cipher trotted down the empty, abandoned road. Rose had expected riding Cipher to be a lot harder and bumpier, but she was surprisingly smooth in her gaits. Rose gazed forward onto the endless road, the cool autumn air blowing stray strands of her blonde hair.   
"Hey, Natalie, how far did you say the town was?"   
"It's only about a mile or so away by now."   
Rose remained silent.  
"Um.. Rose?" Natalie cautiously began.  
"Yes?"   
"Where do you think all those walkers came from? You know, the ones that drove us out."   
Rose simply shrugged. "They must've come overnight. The more living there are in one place, there's even more dead."   
"I see.." Natalie whispered, barely audible.   
        Rose kicked Cipher into a canter, tensing up at the sudden shift in speed before being corrected again by Natalie. Any walkers that stumbled across their path, they simply ignored, not bothering to kill them; Cipher was more than fast enough to get away from them. They hoped that the town had supplies that they could secure for themselves or even a place to stay. The two of them had narrowly escaped the ranch being over run, and, during which, had contemplated leaving Cipher behind but voted against it.   
        Soon, the tips of the large buildings could be seen by the pair of survivors as they neared the entrance to the city. Natalie pointed and smiled brightly at the sight, and a sight it was; not a beautiful one, mind you. Some of the buildings were either completely torn down or partially; some even burned. To Natalie, the city just represented, potentially, a new start. However, Rose remained skeptical of the city; it could be overrun with walkers, it could be completely devoid of supplies, and, judging by the state of the buildings, there might only be a slim chance of finding a place to stay. Not to mention, the problem with Cipher; she'd need food, water, a place to be safe, and she'd need complete observation so as not to be overtaken with walkers.   
Rose sighed, "Don't get your hopes up, Natalie. There could be.. complications."   
"Aw, Rose, don't be like that! I bet it'll be alright!"   
"If you say so, Natalie, I'll try to.. give it a chance."   
"Alright! Good!"  
         Cipher stepped cautiously as she tried to avoid the burned and broken slabs of wood that blocked the entrance to the city. They had finally reached it, and here they were, looking at a completely empty city street, minus a few walkers here and there. This could either be a good thing or a bad thing. Rose, being her protective and cautious self, voted bad. Especially since there was a small fire ignited on a pile of wood; something she considered a bad sign. Something was definitely off about this city; something she didn't want to stay around for, but, alas, this was Natalie she was talking to. Rose would do anything Natalie asked of her that she deemed necessary, and this was no exception. Natalie asked her to give it a chance, and she would.   
         Rose, still atop Cipher, pointed at a seemingly untouched store and directed Natalie's gaze towards it. "There. We'll go in there to see if we can find anything."  
"Alright, but.. Do you want me to stay out here with Cipher?"   
"Yeah. Are you sure you can handle yourself, Natalie?"   
"I think so.. I'll try.." Natalie whispered, clutching her knife as she become increasingly more nervous at the thought of being left alone outside.   
"Don't worry," Rose reassured her friend, offering a small smile. "I'll be back in no time."   
        Rose grabbed Natalie's backpack and wandered inside the story, and she was surprised to see that there was no barricade blocking the entrance. She walked in nonetheless and snatched the first thing she saw, which just so happened to be Natalie's favorite food: peanut butter. Rose smiled to herself and decided to tell Natalie later, shoving the jar into the bag. Rose began to gather more and more food, water, and medicine, and she had lost track of time before she realized it got quiet. Terrifyingly quiet. Cipher no longer gave off nervous whinnies, and Rose no longer heard Natalie's voice calming the mare down. "Natalie?" Rose yelled out, trying not to be too loud. "Is everything alright out there?"   
She received no answer.   
"Natalie? Cipher?"  
Again, utter silence, not counting the groaning of a walker.  
Rose gasped. "Natalie!"   
The groaning of a walker, which Natalie would've killed.   
         Rose slung the bag onto her shoulder and immediately dashed out of the store, her bow in hand. Hardly seconds passed before Rose shot the walker with her bow once it was in sight. Cipher and Natalie were no where to be seen. There were no signs of them around, and, for once, she let it get to her. Rose limply dropped to her knees, looking frantically in all directions. "Natalie?!" Her voice broke into sobs. "Where are yo-" A sharp pain on the side of her head forced her onto the ground with its strength, rendering her unconscious.   
        Rose groaned as she shook her head, trying to clear her blurry vision. Her hands and feet were tied, and there was a cloth firmly tied around her mouth. The words she tried to mutter just spilled out as muffled nonsense. Rose attempted to stand, despite knowing her feet were tied, but only succeeded in flopping down on her side. She held back vomiting as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, realizing the situation she had now found herself in. Dead walkers were hung from the ceilings by metal hooks, much like animals would be in a slaughterhouse or meat locker. Tears wet the white cloth wrapped around her mouth as she repeatedly called for someone; anyone. She had to find Natalie.  
         Rose flailed around, trying to find a way to get the ropes off, and an idea suddenly presented itself to her. Those hooks looked pretty sharp, and, if she could balance herself, she might be able to get the binds to her hands off. Rose pushed her back against the wall and managed to stand up, still using the wall as support. She shuffled and bounced her way to the nearest hook, which just happened to be impaled through the walker's mouth, not its skull. That meant it was still alive but, thankfully, couldn't bite her. It confirmed her theory by suddenly throwing its arms forward, in a measly attempt to grab her. She wasn't even in arm's reach of the walker, so she easily avoided the potential catastrophe.   
         Rose sawed the rope back and forth on the sharp hook, and, being rather thick, it took a while before it eventually snapped. She immediately sat and worked eagerly on the ropes that bound her feet, successfully ripping them off, and she did the same with the cloth around her mouth. Rose recognized that she was in the back of a truck, as there was a garage-like door at the narrow end of the "room." She didn't care who put her in here; that would be found out later. All she cared about was finding Natalie again. Rose stumbled forward towards the end of the truck, barely escaping the grasp of a few lucky walkers that weren't killed in whatever situation they had been in. It was unlocked. She threw open the door to the back of the truck and froze.

"Shit."


	6. Too Young for a World like This

        Rose stared at the massive horde of walkers, who returned the glare with agitated groans and grabbing and snapping at her ankles. She stomped around in frustration, only succeeding in irritating the nearby walkers even more than they already were. She cursed loudly, punching the metal, bloodied side of the truck, which sent a wave of pain through her hand and arm. Of course, the bastards had taken her damn bow and any other damn weapon she could've used. Rose kicked a dead walker that hung from a hook, its limp body shaking at the impact. Her gaze snapped to the hook.  
        Rose tugged at the walker's body, attempting to shake it down or do something. She repeatedly and roughly tugged on its arms and neck, but she stopped when a sickening crack signaled something. The walker's neck snapped completely, and its body tumbled off of the hook, only leaving its impaled, rotted head and bits of the broken spine dangling from the hook. Rose ignored her gagging response in a rush to get to wherever Natalie was or find whoever did this to them, and one can be sure, when she did, she'd offer no mercy. She easily slid the head off of the hook, and it was rusted with old blood and chunks of the rotten brain.   
         Rose grabbed the hook, ripping and tugging at it as hard as her body would allow. The weakened, rusted chain eventually snapped loudly with some reluctance, and Rose smiled down at it. Now that she had a weapon, she just needed to figure out how the hell she was going to get out of here. The horde of walkers, from what she saw, consisted of about twenty or so. However, a few walkers nearest to the front weren't agitated at the sight of her, which aroused her curiosity. She studied her appearance and saw that the minutes of attempting to take down the dead walker had rubbed its entrails on her torso and, even, her face. Another idea placed itself into her mind, but Rose hesitated to follow this one's heed. She looked around the compact truck; there was no way in hell that there was another way out, and, if there was, the truck was completely surrounded by the dead. This idea was the only thing that was going to keep her alive, and, if she must, she might as well take the risk.   
         Rose dove the hook into the walker's torso, tearing the thin flesh of the deceased downwards so as to reveal its bloody organs. She hesitantly picked up the small intestine, holding back the urge to vomit as she rubbed it onto her arms, shoulders, chest, torso, and even her face. Rose then smeared the entrails on her legs and feet, once done, throwing the organ off to the side and vomiting. She shivered and stood up, crossing her arms meekly on her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut and dropped herself over the edge of the exit, bracing herself for the unmerciful jaws of death. It never came. The walkers merely stumbled around her, some groaning and looking down at her, only to continue on.   
         She huffed, pushed herself up, and shoved her way through the horde, all the while hiding the hook under her arm. As she pushed her way through the last of the walkers, Rose gasped to breathe in the fresh air, which was a far cry from the rotting smell of the walking corpses. She stumbled onwards, not bothering to look back at what once could've held her to a death sentence. All she had to do now was to find Natalie, but she had no inkling of an idea as to where to start. Hell, she didn't even know where she was. She'd have to start off finding the city once more, and then, maybe, she'd have an easier time tracking down Natalie. Rose was still exhausted from whatever it was she went through, and she only found it easy to limp along, not taking the risk to push herself to walk or even run.   
         Soon, Rose found herself on the side of an empty gravel road and cursed to herself, as she realized how far away she really was from the former city. She looked around in all directions, cupping her hand above her eyes to see clearly. There was a large field off to her right, and, if she saw correctly, there was a tiny speck on the horizon, which could mean anything, really, from this distance. Anything is better than nothing, she reasoned with herself. Rose began her trek off the road, which, she admitted to herself, probably wasn't the best plan, but she continued into the field anyways; anything to help her get to where she needed to be.   
         As Rose neared the object, she eagerly quickened her pace with excitement for what would await her. What she saw in front of her was a house; a rather large one at that. It looked to be in decent shape, and she didn't immediately see anyone around it. Then again, she'd have to look inside the seemingly empty house to confirm that. Rose stumbled up the porch steps, almost falling in her haste to get inside, and she did exactly that; she threw open the front door, forgetting her cautiousness as she immediately searched for food and rummaged almost ravenously through the nearby cabinets. She passed the staircase in her hunt for anything edible, but a noise stopped her in her tracks; an almost inaudible click, but she heard it. Her eyes trailed to her right side, slowly traveling up the stairs and widening at the sight of a pair of torn up sneakers.   
"Don't move," a light voice broke the eerie silence that had passed between the two only moments before. "Put your.." The voice paused, hesitating. ".. hook-thing down."  
Rose obeyed the voice's commands, setting her rusty hook on the surprisingly clean counter.  
"Good.. Now, turn around and face me."   
She did as was told and faced the now-revealed voice. It was a damn kid.   
Her face evidently gave away her frustration and surprise, as the other asked, "Something wrong?"   
Rose slowly shook her head.  
"It's alright; you can talk. I don't want to hurt you."  
She didn't make a sound, refusing to offer her voice to the stranger.   
They sighed, lowering their weapon. "What's your name?"   
She cast a suspicious glare, again, refusing to speak.  
"Alright, fine. I'm Sidney."  
Rose studied the stranger closer, and, from what she saw, it was a young boy; probably around the ages of eleven or twelve.   
"Are you mute or something?"   
She shook her head once more, figuring that this kid couldn't do much to her if the problem arises. "I'm Rose."   
"That's a start," Sidney smirked to themselves. "Like I said, I don't want to hurt you; it's alright."   
Rose relaxed a little. "Like you could if you tried."   
Sidney's smirk never faltered as they sat on the top step. "Just don't eat all of my food."  
Rose looked around, only having been able to find a small amount. "You don't have much food, anyway."   
"Yeah, I guess, but, anyway, how did you get here?"   
"Long story, but.. I'm looking for someone."   
"Really? Who?"   
"Her name is Natalie. She might have a horse with her, but I'm not totally sure."   
"What'd she do?"  
Rose looked sharply at Sidney. "What do you mean?"   
"I mean, did she do something? Are you hunting her down?"   
The elder scoffed. "She wouldn't hurt a fly, and, no, we just got separated is all."   
"Damn. How did you get all bloodied?"   
"Again, it's a long story. It happened after we got separated."  
"Any idea where she is?"  
"Nope. Not at all. And-" Rose suddenly realized something. "Are you alone?"   
"Yeah.. Long story."   
"And how old are you?"  
"Thirteen. How old are you?"  
"Twenty-four."   
         The two of them stood in an awkward silence for what seemed like minutes but, in reality, was actually mere seconds. Sidney finally stood up, picking up his weapon and making his way down the stairs to stand next to Rose. Rose all the while kept her eyes trained on them, not missing any movement. "Y'know, what Rosie? I'll make a deal with you."   
'Rosie?' Rose thought to herself. 'A little early to be using nicknames.' "What is it?"   
"I'll help you find this 'Natalie' if you let me go with you."   
"Go with me?" Rose repeated as if she hadn't heard.  
"Yup. Two people is better than one." Sidney held out their hand, asking again, "Deal or no deal?"   
Rose sighed; she did agree with that, after all, and they could very well help. "Fine. Deal."  
         The partners shook hands, and Sidney smiled up at the taller. Rose's gaze softened at their hopeful smile, but she also held a feeling of remorse for them. Sidney was far too young to have the experiences that they will inevitably have, but, now that they were under her watch, she would have to go through those experiences too. Rose sighed, looking down at the teen, but, despite herself, she smiled.


	7. Run, now.

        Rose and Sidney, after speaking with each other for quite a long while, headed outside of the now-empty house with the plan of tracking down and retrieving Natalie. Rose was still equipped with her rusted, bloody hook, and Sidney with their firearm that, even when coaxed by Rose, they wouldn't even walk three feet from. Along the way, Sidney, being themselves, decided to initiate conversation to relieve the tension between the strangers, "So, uh, Rose?"  
She looked back at the sound of her name, responding with a flat voice as usual, "What is it?"   
"I was just wondering, but.. What's with you?"   
Rose turned, stopping sharply in her tracks. "Excuse me?"  
Sidney's hands fidgeted with nervousness at the obvious anger of the adult. "Well, I just meant, like, what happened to you, and where you're from. You know, stuff like that."   
Rose resumed her walking, relaxing her tensed shoulders and paused in thought.  
Sidney cleared their throat to interrupt the awkward silence. "If you're planning on keeping me, then-"  
"Don't be so full of yourself. I haven't decided whether I'll keep you or not," before Sidney could open their mouth to speak, Rose continued, "And don't you dare think of begging, either."   
Kicking an unsuspecting rock that laid in their path, Sidney sighed and folded their arms across their chest. "Alright, alright, I'll go first."   
Without retaliation and understanding that arguing would be futile, Rose let Sidney pour out their history to her.   
"I started off with just my father and brother, but, pretty soon after all of this started, my brother left us, which pissed off my dad. I still don't really know why he left, but I think it's safe to say I'll probably never see him again.." Sidney's voice grew quiet and drawn out by the end of the sentence.   
Rose simply hummed in response, having picked up a long stick that had been thrust through a walker's head and had now absorbed most of her attention.   
"And, that house that you found me in, I've pretty much stayed there since the beginning of this. Rations go a long way."   
The adult had begun sharpening the stick, coming to the conclusion that the blood on the end of it was rather fresh; as fresh as blood from a long dead person could be.   
"And that's pretty much me. Your turn, Rosie."  
Rose stiffly stood up, the sharpened stick in her right hand and the hook in her left. Unamused eyes trailed to her left as she half-heartedly glanced back at the teen. "Do you intend to call me that the entire time you're here?"   
Sidney jogged the rest of the way back up to Rose, having realized she was a bit ahead of them. "Well, you don't really seem like you want to stop me."   
Ignoring the child's previous statement, Rose finally decided to tell her story to avoid any further nicknames they could think up. "So, before this went to hell, I was studying astronomy in college. I didn't have anyone particularly close to me, except for my aunt, but, of course, she had to be halfway across the country in North Dakota. So, long story short, I have no idea where she is or if she's even alive."  
"So, you were alone for the most part?"   
"Except for Natalie and a few other people, but they're dead now. It's just you, Natalie, and I."   
"That's good to know. At least we're getting somewhere as far as trust goes."   
        Rose offered a weak shrug, silently continuing on with the other close behind her. Surprisingly, there were little walkers as they made their trek through the neighborhood, but Sidney was still alerted, even though Rose seemed almost completely at ease. Their intuition sensed an addition to the silent, lonely scene they walked through. If Sidney strained their ears, they could hear something; it was a very subtle, quiet nose, but they knew it was there. To them, it sounded like a sort of rattling; the noise that would present itself if one shook a small link of chains. Sidney decided against alerting Rose of this noise, as they wrote it off as nothing, but their subconscious implied otherwise.  
        As the group walked in the middle of the solemn, dirty street, the noise that had captured Sidney's attention only grew louder. With each yard they traveled, it presented itself louder and more obvious, even to the distracted Rose, who soon heard it. The woman half-turned to glance at Sidney but remained where she was, her stick and hook held tightly in either hand. Rose whistled and titled her head, a clear sign to Sidney to come and stay near her, and the other obeyed without hesitation.   
        Quickly and quietly the pair moved forward, their weapons ready to strike or shoot whatever came near that presented itself as a threat. Soon, however, the noise grew so loud that it was unavoidable to concentrate on anything else, and the origin of this was revealed to them: a large gate; too large for the rather small chain that was binding the entrance. The sloppy warnings written near the entrance didn't deter their attention from the real threat that lay before them. The rattling's source was a massive horde of walkers, too many to count, throwing themselves on the gate in an attempt to claw their way out and sink their rotten teeth into whatever they sensed was alive.  
        The chain's weakness was brought evident by the small snap that signaled the walkers' freedom. The only thing that they could do now was run.


	8. Shared Sorrows

        Sidney slammed the building's door behind them, locking the door for good measure as they backed up from it. The boy looked around themselves, and, of course, the house was empty; even more surprising, there weren't even any furniture. The wooden floor was thickly covered in a layer of dust; however, Sidney didn't bother paying much attention to this small detail as they were consumed with the need to find a way out.   
        Sidney dashed up the stairs to the next level, but was stopped in their tracks as they soon figured out why there was no furniture. A pile of chairs and tables all entangled together sat at the top of the stairwell, covered just as thickly in dust. From beyond the barrier, they also spotted an untouched couch blocking access to a door, what Sidney guessed was a bedroom. With some struggle, Sidney managed to heave themselves over the dirty tables and chairs and into the narrow hallway, which was made even more narrow with fallen shelves from a drawer and books scattered haphazardly around it. With a grunt, the boy pushed the large couch away from the door, and, barely pushing it, the door easily glided open, having not been entirely shut from the start.   
         Sidney tensed up, their right hand hovering over the holster that held their gun as they were met eye-to-eye with another survivor, who held up a large bat between the two. The other was quite a bit taller than Sidney, and, even as they stood staring at each other, the survivor didn't speak and only made waving motions with the bat towards Sidney's firearm. Sidney, taking this as a sign to surrender their weapon, slowly pulled it out of its holster and bent to lay it on the ground. The stranger picked up the gun and lowered his bat so it was idly hanging by his side. "So, uh.." Sidney began, lowering their hands that they had previously raised in surrender. "What's your name?"   
The stranger looked around the room, swiftly picking up half of a pencil and a book. He hastily wrote something down on the cover of the book and held it up for Sidney to read.   
"Micheal, huh?"   
Micheal simply nodded.   
"Are you.. Are you mute or something?"   
He nodded again, his shaggy blonde hair sweeping at the movement.   
Sidney folded their arms across their chest. "Well,  _Micheal,_ it seems to me that we'll be stuck together for a while."   
Micheal titled his head, shaking it as he did so.   
"Do you hear that?" Sidney asked, cupping their right hand over the respective ear. "That is the sound of us being trapped together."  
Micheal rolled his eyes and scribbled something down on the first page inside the book, holding it up once more, which read, 'So how old are you anyway?'   
The other offered a small frown and a pout in response, "Thirteen."   
Micheal smirked and silently chuckled, ruffling the brunette's dark hair.   
Sidney smacked his larger hand away, striding over to a boarded up window and peeking through, before saying in a prideful, if not rather silly, voice, "I believe we have found ourselves in quite the predicament."   
The elder walked up next to the younger and looked through as well. He leaned down and wrote below his previous statement, 'How do you plan on getting out of here?'  
Sidney plopped down on the messy bed, which they realized belonged to Micheal, but did it anyway. "I don't know. Maybe wait it out? Unless we can somehow leave without the dead noticing us, that's all I've got." Sidney stroked their chin. "Do you have a backdoor, backyard, anything like that?"   
The other shook his head.   
"Damn."  
Micheal wrote once more, 'What about going through this window?'  
Sidney glanced at the window, making an indecisive noise. "We're pretty far up, right? And, besides, they're all crowded up down there."  
'We could distract them with something.'  
"Like what?"   
'Something on fire would be best, I think.'  
"On fire? That's.. dangerous.. but I love it! Let's do it." Hyped up on the idea of setting something on fire, Sidney scurried around the room for their victim. They snatched a large notepad and held it in front of Micheal, who quickly shook his head, grabbing it away from them.   
'I'll use this for speaking. We can use this book instead.''  
"Alright," Sidney confirmed. "Let's get to it, then," they eagerly urged Micheal to begin.   
        Micheal tore away the weak boards and opened the window, which, judging by the resistance it gave to open, hadn't been opened in quite some time. Climbing down on the short over-head roof, Sidney following, Micheal ignited the beige book with a lighter he had kept; the book took to the flames, and Micheal had the honor of, once in a position he could aim correctly, tossing it of the roof a little ways beside the group of walkers. However, to the two's disappointment, only a few near it caught on to the distraction; the others blissfully unaware. "Well, shit!" Sidney cursed in a loud whisper. "Do you have anything bigger?"   
Micheal merely shrugged.  
        By now, the horde of a dozen or so walkers had lost interest in the single house and had now spread apart into the street. Because the walkers had abandoned their initial habitat, the gate to the place they were holed up in was wide open, and, inside the fence, was a large, slightly dilapidated building, along with a broken-down car and a dumpster on opposite ends of the lot. Sidney hummed in thought and leaned forward, suddenly remembering something. "Hey, uh, Micheal."  
Micheal nodded, signaling his acknowledgement.   
"Can I have my gun back now?"   
He sighed and pulled their weapon out, holding it for them to grab.   
"Thanks." Sidney leaned back. "Well, have any ideas?"  
Micheal scribbled down with his broken pencil, 'We could go to that building over there.'  
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Problem is, how do we get there?"   
He shrugged and wrote on the yellow paper of the pad, 'I'm not sure, but, by the way, I saw someone right before you came.'   
"You mean Rose?"  
Micheal nodded, now having a name to match a face.   
"Yeah. I'm not really sure how she's doing. Hopefully she's alright."   
'She is. I meant that I saw her before you came, as in after you two were separated.'   
"Really? What was she doing?"   
Micheal shrugged, pausing before writing more, 'She was covered in something.'   
Sidney snorted before chucking a loose roof tile into the street. "Probably the blood of her victims, like usual."   
The other jumped slightly, his eyes showing his surprise, 'victims?'   
Sidney nudged Micheal's arm. "I'm just kidding." Sidney laid back on their arms. "Was she heading for that building?"  
Micheal nodded, remaining in his seated position.   
"Figures." Sidney switched into a fetal position. "She seems really obsessed with this Natalie person."  
'Natalie?' In order for Sidney to see Micheal's words, he had to tap them on the shoulder to notify that he had written something.  
"Yeah, it's this girl she was with since this all started, I think. I offered to help look for her if Rose agreed to take me with her."   
'What happened to her?'   
Sidney shrugged. "I'm not really sure. All she said was, 'It's a long story.'" Sidney sighed, closing their eyes. "All I know is that they were separated."   
Micheal pat Sidney's shoulder, holding up the writing pad, 'Do you regret going with her?'  
They dryly chuckled. "Nope. I might have starved to death if she didn't take me." Sidney paused before adding, "I wasn't brave enough to go out on my own."   
The other nodded and laid back, pushing the pressure on his hands.   
"Now, we should probably find a way out."  
Micheal nodded.   
        Rose, covered in the entrails of a walker she had gut, finally reached the entrance to the dilapidated brick building that the walkers had previously been blocking. She flung open the door and was met with a putrid smell, which triggered her gag reflex. However, she managed to control the reflex and continued on her way, covering her nose and mouth with the inside of a part of her jacket. Because the building was half torn down, the room immediately inside was rather small. Soon after entering, Rose was met with the origin of the disgusting smell: metal tables with large chunks of meat laid upon them were set beside the walls. Some of the meat looked rather fresh, whereas some of the others looked older and even rotted. The blood that had come from the meat simply pooled around several of the slabs, staining the metal tables, and the meat, however, giving off the rotten smell.   
         She tensed in her already frozen state as muffled voices pierced the eerie silence. Rose couldn't quite make out what the voices were saying, but they were just loud enough for her to differentiate the speakers. She heard footsteps next; footsteps growing louder as they neared the room she stood in. Quickly coming to her senses, Rose dashed for the nearest hiding place that she saw, which was behind a stack of crates; crates that emitted the same odor she was met with upon entrance. The footsteps completely entered the room by now, but, unfortunately, Rose's presence did not go unnoticed, as the stranger noticed the bloody footprints leading up to where she hid. Fortunately, Rose still held her hook she had received from her time at the abandoned truck; her stick, on the other hand, she had dropped when running from the oncoming walkers.   
        As the footsteps drew nearer and nearer towards her hiding place, the grip she had on the hook grew tighter and tighter until they stopped all at once. As she strained herself to keep from moving, a deep voice whispered from behind her, "Why so shy, little rose?" Rose shot up, randomly slicing her hook through the air to, of course, no avail. She stumbled backwards after doing so, almost falling down if it weren't for the man grabbing her wrist before she could. "I remember you. Do you remember me?" Too frightened to respond, Rose simply tugged and pulled in an attempt to be set free. Evidently, the man was strong, as just one stroke sent Rose sprawling on the ground. However, the man, after doing so, let out such a loud, sickly cough that caused even Rose to cringe. After recovering from his coughing fit, the man spoke again in a raspy voice, "You see, Rose, I  _needed_  the things you took, and, on the other hand, food is running short nowadays." The last words slipped through a spine-chilling grin he gave. "Don't worry, I think your companion has supplied us with enough to last quite a while." Turning to face the slabs of meat, the man stroked his short, rough beard. "After all, Clydesdale horses are typically very large, yes?"  
        The man fell into a coughing fit once more, gripping his side as the end of the coughing neared. The man grabbed an iron bar that rested against a smashed window, dry blood splattered across the straight end. Rose grabbed the hook that had fallen out of her hand and, just as the man brought it down on her, hit the hook against it. The grip the man had on the pole was too strong for the blow to knock it out of his hand, but it was enough to throw off his balance. As Rose scurried away, she sliced the hook in the air, only managing to land a small strike on the man's forearm. The man hissed, "Damn!" As he was about to land a strike on Rose, a voice interrupted them, "Mark?"  
The man immediately lowered the pole, quickly striding away from Rose. "Brie, please, go back to the room."   
"What are you doing in here?" The woman pushed past Mark, meekly walking up to Rose. The woman held out her hand, grabbing one of Rose's and resting the other on her shoulder as she pulled Rose up. The few grey hairs and slight wrinkles brought present by her gentle smile made her age present, and the gold bands on both of their fingers made it clear that they were married.   
        Brie froze, her grip on Rose going stiff as a gunshot rang through the small, concrete room. Rose's eyes darted to the open door, and there stood Sidney, their gun pointed towards the trio, and Micheal, bat in hand. The woman stumbled back and clutched her bleeding torso, struggling to even stand. Her legs gave way, and Brie fell limply to the ground as a devastated Mark watched blankly onward. Rose, her hook held tightly in her hand, slowly staggered backwards. Before she managed to get past the tables, Mark, in a hushed whisper, said, "Leave."  
         Rose, once far enough away, dashed the rest of the way to the two teens and, either of their hands in one of hers, practically dragged them outside the door just in time to avoid Mark's pole that he threw at the group and his last shout, "Leave, now!" 

 


	9. FTF

        The rough, ice-cold wind mercilessly beat on the trio as they staggered their way forward, each member only mere inches apart from each other. The icy wind blew so fast and so strong, that Rose nearly had to shout to address Micheal and Sidney, "Hey, how are you guys holding up!?"   
Micheal simply gave a thumbs-up, and Sidney looked over at Rose, leaning in slightly before yelling back, "Totally freezing! When are we going to find shelter?"   
"I don't think it's going to be long now. Just hang in there!"   
        The group had migrated to Michigan, and now just happened to be a particularly bad winter; unfortunately, Rose had now given up on finding Natalie, as Sidney was more-than-eager to get somewhere cold. Micheal had informed the three that, because walkers were already dead, cold weather would, literally, freeze them; to him, it was only common sense.   
"Hey, Rose, what's that?" Sidney shouted, pointing forward to a faint, orange glow up ahead.  
"I'm not sure, but, whatever it is, at least, it's something."  
"Let's go to it!" Sidney suddenly lurched forward, dragging Rose and Micheal with them, as they all were holding hands.   
          They fought against the wind and neared the warm, orange glow that, thankfully, was alighted on a porch to a small, wooden cabin-type house. Sidney let out a sigh of relief and let go of the two others' hands, rushing forward and nearly bursting through the single door. However, Micheal and Rose took their time by the fire, and Rose noticed something off. The fire was lit in a metal barrel, and, on the wall near the door, were the letters 'FTF' written in a substance Rose didn't recognize; perhaps, the substance was mud, or even chalk.   
           Rose and Micheal both entered the small cabin, but both of them froze at the sight before them. A hand was tightly placed over Sidney's mouth as they clawed desperately at it and a gun pressed firmly against their temple. Sidney's words came out only as light whimpers and muffled nonsense. Rose instinctively stretched her arms out to Sidney, shouting, "Sid-" before being interrupted by the woman.   
"Only talk when I ask you something or I'll kill all of you," the woman said hurriedly, almost gasping for breath at the end of her sentence.   
Rose nodded, slowly bringing up her hands in surrender with Micheal copying her actions.  
The woman pointed the gun at the two others. "What are you doing here, only the three of you?"   
In almost a whisper, Rose responded, "We were just looking for shelter from the cold."  
"Where are you from?" The woman demanded, raising her head and studying the two.   
"We're from... South Carolina."  
"So, you've come a long way, then?"  
"Longer than I wanted to."  
Relaxing her grip on Sidney, the woman's face suddenly changed from aggressive to wary, "Have you ever heard of the group 'Phoenix'?"   
"'Phoenix'? Uh, no, never."   
"Does 'Feed the Fire' ring any bells?"   
"No, not at all."   
Completely lowering her firearm, but still holding on to Sidney, the woman kept inquiring, "Did you run into anyone on the way here?"   
"No, I wouldn't imagine I would've, anyway."  
"Was anyone following you?"  
That question caused chills to go down Rose's spine, more than they already were. "No, I don't think so."  
The woman let Sidney go, who immediately dashed forwards to his companions. The stranger muttered, "So, it's only here, then.."  
"What's only here?"  
"Phoenix," she flatly responded, turning her back and picking at her fingernails as she thought.   
"What's 'Phoenix'?"   
The woman spread her arms in a hopeless manner and they limply bounced on her hips as she turned. "Hell if I know! Some shit cult or something. They actually 'agree,'" The woman used air quotations before continuing, "with this whole hell. They purposely turn people to 'Feed the Fire.'"  
Sidney whispered, "Damn.."   
Rose shook her head. "So, what're you doing here?"  
"I came to hunt some of these monsters down," She sighed. "Turns out they abandoned this place before I got here, now I'm snowed in." The woman chuckled dryly. "I thought you guys were some of them."   
"I can assure you that we aren't part of a cult."   
"Clearly. They have more 'fancy' weapons. Anyway, what's your names?"   
"I'm Rose," Rose points to Sidney, "That's Sidney," She then points to Micheal, "And that's Micheal."   
"Nice to meet y'all; I'm Lidia. Oh, and, uh, sorry for the whole thing."  
"It's fine. I probably would've done the same in your place."   
"Glad to hear, Rose. So, uh, any 'a you hungry?"   
Sidney's jaw practically dropped as they stepped forward. "Starving."   
Lidia smiled, turning and waving her hand as a signal to follow. "C'mere."   
        The cabin was in surprisingly decent shape, and there was even a small fireplace that Lidia attended to. Over the fireplace set a pot of some kind of food that didn't have much of a scent but, nevertheless, made their mouths water over the noise of the contents boiling inside. "The little shits actually bothered to keep this place tidy before abandonin' it like it was nothin'," Lidia informed, stirring the pot with a splintering wooden spoon as steam escaped from the opening. Studying her creation, she continued, "It's not much, but it was all I could find."   
Sidney shivered, kneeling in front of the fire. "Well, it's something, at least. Frankly, as long as it's edible, I would eat anything at this point."   
Rose stepped down into the area the three others resided. "So, I know we just met, but why are you hunting these people down?"  
"Why wouldn't I? Someone's gotta teach 'em."   
"Do you have any idea where they went?"  
"Not really. Since the snow is so bad, it's covered their tracks, but, when the time comes, I'll see what I can do."   
Sidney spoke up from mere inches away from the flames, "So, how long's this snow going to last?"  
"Can't ever be sure about these things. We'll have to wait it out."   
Scrunching up in a ball, they muttered, "Damn.."   
Lidia set the cover back on the pot. "So, Micheal, not one for talkin'?"   
Sidney chuckled. "I guess you could say that."   
Rose lightly hit their shoulder and corrected, "He's actually mute."   
"Oh, uh, well, sorry, then."   
Micheal simply nodded with a polite and patient smile.   
Sidney impatiently mumbled, "So, is this done yet or what?"   
Lidia merely shrugged. "Probably. Take some if ya want to; bowls are over there."   
        Sidney scuffled over to a stack of scratched and weared bowls on the floor, selecting the cleanest one in the pile and filling their bowl to the very top. With Sidney nearly scarfing it down, Lidia poured some of the thin, clear liquid into three other bowls for the rest of them. Deciding to strike up more conversation, Lidia spoke again, "Do you plan on stayin' the night?"   
Looking up from her own meal, Rose responded, "If you'll let us."  
"'Course you can. Nothing's gettin' anywhere in this weather."   
"So, where're you from?" Sidney spoke up from their spot next to Micheal.   
"Well, I'm from Indiana, but I was raised most of my life in Texas; started out all alone. I decided to come to Michigan because I had some family up here, but, y'know, didn't find 'em."   
"I'm sorry," Rose whispered. "I'm sure we've all lost someone by now."   
"Yeah, we have; I shouldn't be broodin'."   
"So, how did you find out about 'Phoenix'?"  
"I hadn't heard of 'em until I joined this group a while ago; they told me all about what they had done to those close to them, and that they were plannin' to get 'em back someday. That happened a long time ago; most of 'em were killed, but I decided to stay behind, y'know, with the sick of our group and all. This other girl, who stayed behind with me, her husband, I think he was, he was one of 'em that was killed, and I guess she just couldn't handle it. Anyways, I was alone with the sick now, and, because I wasn't a doctor or anything, most of 'em succumbed to the cold."  
"So, you decided to come after the Phoenix by yourself?" Rose finished.   
"I don't have anythin' else to do."  
"Even if it meant certain death?" Sidney asked.  
"Someone's gotta do it." Finishing her soup and propping herself up with her hands, Lidia continued, "What about you guys?"   
Rose decided to go first, "I first started out in college, alone, when this started. I didn't have family in South Carolina, and the only member I was ever close to was my aunt, who lived in North Dakota. I don't know whether she's fine or not, but, since it's usually pretty cold there, I like to think she is. Anyway, not long after, I was found in the middle of the street by these two siblings, who took me with them. Then, we found this girl named Natalie in the city. Long story short, all three of them are gone now, but Natalie.. I'm not sure if she's alright either; she went missing. When I was looking for her, I stumbled up on a house in the fields next to a road, and this little squirt," She looked lovingly at Sidney, "just so happened to be there. They offered to help me find Natalie, and we eventually got to an abandoned neighborhood.. But there were a dozen or so walkers fenced in somewhere that eventually got loose. During our run to get away from them, Sidney found Micheal alone in a house, and we decided to travel north to the cold."  
Clearing their throat, Sidney spoke up, "I guess it's my turn, then. When this first started, I was with my dad and brother, and I hadn't even seen one of those things until about a month into it. I don't know how, but my dad managed to shield me from them that long. That was, until my brother left, and, when my dad figured out, he was pretty pissed. That's it."  
Lidia slowly nodded. "What about your dad? What happened to him?"  
"Oh, yeah.." Sidney paused in thought before speaking again, "One day he left for something and never came back."  
"Damn, kid. I'm sorry."  
Sidney shrugged and leaned their head against Micheal's shoulder, absently drawing invisible patterns on the cold floor with their fingers. "It's not your fault; if it's anyone's, it's his."   
Lidia smiled. "You're a strong kid. Stay that way."   
Sidney returned the smile two-fold, albeit a little pridefully. "I will."  
Micheal smiled down at Sidney's wide grin and ruffled their dark hair in a loving manner.   
Rose sighed and weakly heaved herself up on her feet with her hands. "Alright, Sidney, I think you should be getting to sleep."   
Sidney groaned and rolled away from Micheal and onto their side. "Why?"  
"Because you're thirteen, and we have to travel tomorrow."  
"How far are we going, anyway?"   
Rose stretched her arms, yawning as she did so. "I'm not sure. Far enough to get to a city." She then glanced at the kind stranger. "Do you have anywhere to go, Lidia?"  
Lidia shook her head. "Nah, I still have to deal with the whole Phoenix thing."  
"Are you sure you want to do this by yourself?" Sidney asked, propping their head up with their hand.   
"I don't have anyone else, so might as well."   
"Well.." Sidney trailed off, choosing their words carefully under the watchful eye of Rose. "We can help, right, Rose?"  
The elder sighed once again and sat herself down on the edge of a broken stool. "How big is this group?"  
Lidia stared at the ceiling in thought. "My group wasn't that big; only about six people went out, so I'd say about medium sized or a little small for an organization like that, if that makes sense."   
"Alright," Rose whispered, drumming her fingers on the cold wood. "We certainly need more weapons. All we have is a hook and a gun." Rose motioned to her familiar hook that was attached to a hole in her jeans by a thick string where a belt would've been.   
"After this snow lets up, I could take you to a city nearby. If the Phoenix or anyone else haven't raided it yet, there still might be some weapons." Pausing in a moment of remembrance, Lidia continued, "Are any of you good with knives?"   
Rose chuckled. "I've only ever touched one twice; I was too afraid of them before this happened. Natalie really helped me with that."   
"When I was younger, I used to poke trees with short sticks and pretend they were knives," Sidney remarked with a grin.   
"You'll learn to use 'em. Knives have a helluva lot more uses than for poking trees," Lidia replied, smiling just as much.  
"So, it's settled, then? In the morning, we'll go to the city, find weapons, and try to hunt down these Phoenix people," Rose confirmed and stood up from her stool, walking back to the rest of the group. "And, Sidney, I'm not kidding; go to sleep."  
"Yeah, we should all rest up," Lidia agreed.  
"Alright, alright, I'm going," Sidney said, curling up into a ball next to the extinguished flames of the fireplace.   
        Micheal slept about a foot away from Sidney, and Rose and Lidia laid at the other side of the small room. However, even as Rose, Lidia, and Micheal drifted off to sleep, Sidney stayed up for a little while drawing random things that popped into their minds on Micheal's writing pad.


	10. Burned and Torn

The rustling noises from Rose, Micheal, and Lidia moving about to get ready jerked Sidney out of their sleeping state, particularly the sound of Micheal dropping his bat right next to Sidney when he was attempting to wake the sleeping teen. Sidney pushed themselves up and sleepily rubbed their eyes as they shakily stood, still not entirely awake. However, the immediate burst of cold air from the opened door snapped them back to their senses, along with Rose's voice, "Good morning, Sidney. I'm glad to see you're finally awake."   
Yawning, the younger responded, "Where are we going in such a hurry?"   
"Lidia's taking us to that town she was talking about. It's still pretty cold, so stay close to the rest of us."  
Sidney grumbled, "Alright.."  
            Grabbing their gun from the ground beside them, Sidney held it in their right hand and shuffled up to Rose and her snow-covered coat. Rose greeted the other by wrapping one of her arms around their shoulders and holding them close. Micheal, who stood close behind the pair, wore his own heavy coat that they had scavenged soon after entering Michigan; Lidia herself was already outside making sure the path was clear.  
              As soon as Lidia returned to tell the others that the abandoned town was safe to traverse, the four of them plunged themselves into the icy cold weather once more. The path to the city was still thickly covered in snow, and ice laced the edges of the concrete road. A few rundown, rusting cars laid unused on the sides of the path; slewn walkers' blood staining the hoods, doors, and windows. The tires were sunken in the deep snow; the frost which was hardened on the rubber and other factors giving it little hope of rolling again.   
            Sidney huddled close next to Rose, their own hoodie doing next to nothing against the extreme weather. Micheal walked to the very left of the two, and Lidia walked ahead, scoping out the area for any hidden residents. The walkers, as of now, we're not of any concern for the four; any that were still up and walking were likely frozen through, glued in place. As the group moved forwards, Micheal pointed just ahead, towards multiple silhouettes, moving so slowly they could be mistaken as standing in place. Evidently, Lidia saw these figures as well and spoke up to warn them, "Just leave 'em alone. They can't do much to you in this state."  
             Rose hugged Sidney tighter to herself, and, even as they walked inches away from the walkers, they didn't even seem to acknowledge their presence. Still not out of the small herd, Lidia spoke again, "The city's not that much farther; only about twenty more minute's walk. It'll probably be a little slick, so watch your step."  
              The group trudged on, but they were encouraged by the sight of the city ahead of them; ice, snow, and all. Dead trees' gnarled branches climbed up buildings and burst through shattered windows; the snow resting itself from its long journey on anything it fell upon. Frost plastered itself on the things snow hadn't taken over yet and refused to shrink away, even when the heat of the group walking near threatened it to. Their scuffling feet on the ice forced echoes through the empty city, created even more ominous by the narrow alleyways laid aside the street. Small snowflakes began to fall, and Lidia certainly acknowledged them, "We should get inside. Y'know, before the snow gets any worse."  
Rose, hugging Sidney close to her, asked, "Is this place you were talking about nearby?"  
"Yeah, kind of. Only a few more blocks to go; don't worry."  
             The four survivors were completely alone in the city; even the groaning and scuffling of walkers wasn't there to great them. It was dead silent, minus the increasingly strong wind that had suddenly picked up. Lidia still remained a few yards ahead of the group, keeping an eye out just in case the Phoenix had managed to come through here, and, by the looks of it, they had stopped by. A phoenix painted with a red substance stretched its flaming wings across the side of a brick building; its outstretched claws reached downward, and its beak opened in a screech. Below the large bird sat another metal barrel, the sides of which were smoldered, and inside laid a heap of ash; a fire put out by the cruel cold. Lidia spoke, "Oh, and, uh, a few things you should know about these guys: they never hit the head of their victims, which could be in our favor, and they often gas their victims; cruel, I know. We might run in 'ta stuff like that, so we might also need to look for gas masks and the like; y'know, just in case."  
"Gas? We're dealing with gas? What kind, exactly?" Rose asked, albeit a little aggressively.  
"Don't worry, Rose. I think gas is pretty cool," Sidney said cheerfully.  
"You won't think it's 'pretty cool' once you're suffocating," Rose replied, roughly nudging them.  
"'Fraid so, Rose. Though, I'm pretty sure they only use anesthetics," was Lidia's attempt to reassure the worried woman.  
"And why did you decide to come after these people?"  
"Don't have anythin' else to do."  
"So this is a death wish?"  
"Somethin' like that."  
With a scoff of disbelief, Rose exclaimed, "I'm not putting Sidney and Micheal at risk for this!"  
"Never said you had to, but I'd recommend coming along at least for a little while longer; just for the extra weapons."  
"I suppose you're right," Rose sighed. "But we're leaving after we get them."  
"Fair enough. It's not much longer now."  
Sidney pinched Rose's arm, no doubt pouting.  
The elder gently slapped his hand away and whispered, "You heard me. I'm not putting you in danger."  
"We can't just leave her alone. She's just one person."  
"Exactly, Sidney, we'd be outnumbered, and this is her choice; we're not getting dragged into it."  
"But what if they have people? What if they have people that need help? People that were stolen away like Natalie?"  
Rose snapped, "I said  _no_ ; that does  _not_  involve us, Sidney. And don't bring her up. She's gone."  
"Fine,  _mom_ ," Sidney stuck their tongue out in distaste.  
"You'll thank me that we didn't go."  
Sidney simply grumbled in response.   
Lidia stopped, holding her hand out behind her to tell the others to do the same. "Here it is. They mainly used to sell knives, but you might be able to find something else."  
Sidney stalked ahead, breaking away from Rose's life-saving heat.  
           Rose sighed and shook her head, following the angered teenager, and said teenager was already rummaging through the scraps left behind by raiders. Beside the pile Sidney was looking through was a glass case already smashed open. Small shards of glass were scattered across various knives, throwing knives, and even daggers. Of course, many, many of these knives had already been stolen from their origin, but some remained.  
             Rose reached down through the jagged, sharp shards and slowly picked up a small case. Inside the case laid a grey, retractable knife; quite plain, if she was honest. Nothing out of the ordinary or charming abut it, which, by her, was fine. Micheal and Lidia had walked in behind the two, and the woman spoke, "Not much in here, huh? I was afraid people had looted it; not much of a surprise, anyway."  
"I guess not, but," Rose held out the knife and its empty case, "I found this."  
"Nice. Keep it for yourself; you'll need it. Any more?" Lidia asked, rummaging through shelves.  
"Some throwing knives and a small dagger. That's about it," Rose informed. "Did you find anything, Micheal?"  
Micheal nodded, holding out a bag and a half-empty, dirty bottle of water.  
"Alright. If you find anything more, just put it in the bag," Rose commanded.  
Micheal nodded again and kneeled next to Sidney, seemingly to help them with their search.   
             The snow outside their shelter had gotten increasingly worse, fogging up the view merely a few feet ahead. However, inside the shop offered only little heat, if any. Rose and the others could be thankful of the fact that most of the windows were intact. Scratching her forehead, Rose spoke, "Do you think we should go out or wait until it passes?"  
Lidia replied, seemingly unconcerned, "Wait inside. Trust me, we wouldn't last long out there."   
"How long do you think it'll-" Rose paused. "The hell is that?"  
Alarmed, the Sidney popped up out of their seat the first. "What is it, Rose?"  
Rose squinted, straining her eyes. "I don't know; I can't see through all this snow."  
Sidney tested themselves and decided to have a go at looking. "It kinda.. looks like a light, maybe."  
By now, both Lidia and Micheal had gotten up, and Lidia seemed the most disturbed by their find. "Shit! We have to leave, now!" Lidia suddenly exclaimed. "Go out the side door; they're here."  
           Without another moment's hesitation, Lidia practically dragged the others behind her and into the fierce cold. "What the hell, Lidia?! Who's here?" Rose demanded, tightly hugging herself from the cold.  
"The Phoenix. I thought they had cleared the area out, but they're back." Lidia peeked around the corner of the alleyway they found themselves. "That light you saw was a signal to the others that some of the soldiers were heading in this direction; kind of like a checkpoint."  
"Wouldn't we have been safe in the shop?" Sidney asked, personally outraged at their lack of a heavy jacket compared to the others.  
"They don't just look for people to turn; they raid for supplies, too." With a smile, Lidia added, "Besides, this is our time to finally kill some of these fuckers."  
"No, Lidia," Rose said in a harsh whisper. "I told you that we weren't getting dragged into this."  
"It's too late now. Try to leave right now, and you'll die. Fight on your way out, and you just might live."  
With a groan, Rose wielded her hook and passed the knife over to Sidney. "What do we have to do?"  
"That's the spirit! All you have to do is avoid getting caught and killed. I'd understand if you didn't want to kill them, but it'd be a mighty fine help."  
Rose grumbled under her breath, "No fucking way."  
"I'll stay with Rose," whispered Sidney. "Micheal, are you fine going with Lidia?"  
Micheal nodded at his young friend, ruffling their hair.  
Sidney offered a characteristic smile. "Be safe, brother."  
"You both be careful," Rose said, a dead serious expression plastered on her face. "That goes double for you, too, Sidney."  
"Alright, alright, I know."  
              Rose nodded to Lidia and Micheal and pulled on Sidney's sleeve as a sign to follow her. Down the back of the alleyway the pair went, and Sidney watched as their dear friend disappeared behind Lidia into the thick, blinding snow. Peculiarly, Sidney felt something they couldn't exactly explain, but the feeling forced a smile on their face despite their hands shaking. Sidney looked forward to meet Rose's grim, serious face. "Are you ready, Sidney?" She whispered, gently holding their shoulder.  
"Yeah.. Yeah, let's go."  
"I need to ask you something first." Rose's face suddenly went from serious to anxious.  
"What is it?" They asked, becoming a bit impatient.  
"Promise me, that no matter what happens to me or anyone else, or no matter what happens around you, you'll get somewhere safe; somewhere out of the city."  
Their hands still shaking, Sidney responded without hesitation, "Y-Yeah, yeah, I promise, Rose."  
"Good. Stay close to me."  
        Sidney nodded, swallowing thickly as they directed their shaking grip to the gun they held. Rose crouched and strained her eyesight to see through the thick snowfall. Looking back at Sidney, she pushed onwards, now and then checking back to make sure nothing had happened to them. Rose, as Sidney did, felt the nervousness, but hers was felt twofold. She had let Natalie down, but she was sure as hell not going to lose Sidney; not now.  
               Staying low and as close to the cold, brick wall as they could, Sidney and Rose eventually made their way to another shop of some kind. Its windows were completely shattered; shards of glass flung on the inside of the building as well as the outside. Rose laid a hand on Sidney's shoulder and stopped, listening. Footsteps broke the tense silence as they crunched down on the broken glass; the noise almost akin to stepping on the snow. Rose went out on a limb and peeked over the edge where the window would've been, but, unfortunately, the Phoenix member had barely caught her in their peripheral vision.   
"Someone there?" The man spoke out, cautiously walking over to the door.  
"Show yourself; I know someone's over here."  
            The man looked through the doorway and to his side, where Rose and Sidney sat. Before the man could shout for help, Sidney lurched forward and clung onto the man's back, placing their hand firmly on the man's mouth. The man slammed his back onto the edge of the doorway, and Sidney let out a muffled shriek as they desperately dug their nails into the man's shoulders. Rose came to her senses and kicked the man's feet as he lost balance to Sidney's weight. Panting and nearly shaking, Sidney took out their knife and plunged it into the back of the man's neck.  
               As the stranger gasped for breath, Sidney stumbled backwards, their breathing panicked and ragged. "Ro-Rose.. I-I just.."  
Rose enveloped them in a tight, warm hug, but their shocked form hardly reacted. "I know. It's fine; you're okay."  
"I just..  _killed_ someone, Rose."  
"I'm sorry, Sidney; I know how it first feels, but we have to get out of here. You need to be prepared to do whatever it takes."  
"Yeah.. We have to get somewhere safe.. And we'll be back with Micheal and Lidia, right?"  
"Yes, exactly. Don't worry, they'll be-"  
              Rose fell limply against the brick wall, her torso beginning to bleed as it stained the snow a deep red. "Rose!" Sidney shouted over the ringing of their ears; the gunshot still imprinted in their mind. Out of the misty grey of the falling snow, a man strolled up to the pair, firearm in hand. "Get up," he gruffly said, feeling no sympathy for the crying teenager.  
"Stupid kid.." He muttered under his breath. "I said get the fuck up!"   
"R-Rose! Don't.. Please don't!" Sidney pulled and tugged on Rose's limp arm.   
The man roughly shoved Sidney towards himself, pulling them up with plenty of resistance on the kid's part. "C'mon, now, don't make this hard on me."  
Sidney thrashed around, scratching on the man's hand; the knife laid just beside Rose. "Rose! Rose, wake up, please!" They shouted desperately, which only earned a slap from the angered man.  
"I said let's go! We have a special place for you, kid."        
          The man practically dragged Sidney on the ground; all the while the other thrashed and kicked in rebellion. Soon, Sidney simply went limp, refusing to offer the stranger any cooperation, even if it meant subjecting their legs to the agonizingly cold snow. However, the stranger managed to force him through it all; until, finally, they stopped at the front of a large building. The man muttered, "You'll just make it harder on yourself, kid."  
"Go to hell," Sidney snarled back.  
"The fuck did you just say to me?" The stranger demanded, kicking Sidney square in their torso, which forced a grunt from the considerably smaller.  
"You heard me, asshole!" Sidney shouted and bit the man's arm as he reached down to grab them.   
"Gotta lotta guts for a shrimp," the man grumbled, rubbing the bite.  
"Impressed? I would be," Sidney remarked, flashing a smug smile.  
"You really don't know when to stop do you?" The man taunted, driving his foot yet again into Sidney's stomach and chest.   
              They coughed at the sudden, harsh pressure, and specks of blood dotted the snow beneath them. The elder yanked on the younger's arms, nearly flinging them inside the building and allowing them to land harshly on the cold floor. Sidney scrambled up on their feet and clutched their sore, bruised stomach. "This way," the other demanded, roughly redirecting them.  
              The two passed 'soldiers' along the way to wherever the hell this stranger was taking them, and, from the looks of it, this building was some kind of headquarters for these Phoenix people. Sidney's thoughts, however, lingered on Rose, even when surrounded by their enemes. ' _Damn!'_  They had dropped the knife at the shock of Rose being shot. ' _No, no, don't panic. Rose said I needed to get somewhere safe, right? Whatever it takes, she said; whatever it takes.'_    
              After being pushed through hallways and up stairs, Sidney was finally stopped at the outside of a door. "In there, he'll know what to do with you," the stranger informed, pushing open the rather large, daunting door. Inside sat another man behind a desk; however, this man carried obvious authority. His orange hair and moustache sharpened his features, and his icy, merciless blue eyes cut Sidney every time they fell upon them. The man pushed himself up from the desk with his muscular arms, smirking. "My, my, and what do we have here?"  
"Just a kid, sir. Found him with a woman, but she was taken care of."  
"Excellent, and what is this boy's name?"  
"Hasn't spoken but to call me an asshole yet."  
"Fiesty one, he is. I can see it in his eyes."  
Sidney spoke, "Don't know why I'm trusting you fuckers, but I'm Sidney. And, please, respect pronouns much?"  
"And there it is. Didn't think it would take much to make you talk." The man's icy eyes trailed Sidney's form. "Off you go. I can handle him."  
The man nodded and left promptly.   
"Now, then, I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Nicholas; it's nice to meet you,  _Sidney._ " The emphasis placed on their name forced chills down Sidney's spine.  
Turning fearful, Sidney sputtered out, "What are you planning to do to me?"  
"It depends on your behavior, so you'd better behave yourself." Nicholas sat back behind his desk. "Please, sit." He gestured to one of the not-so-comfortable looking chairs.   
Sidney simply did as they were told.  
"Now, this woman you were with.. Who is she, and why were you two in this city?"  
"Her name is Rose, and we were just passing through."  
"Of course, I don't know if you aren't lying, but I'm trusting you, Sidney. Do you trust me?"  
They scoffed. "Not in the least, but let's get something straight. One, you don't have to talk to me like a two-year-old, and, two, don't you dare even touch Rose."  
The man chuckled deeply. "Promising, you are. I suppose I guessed correctly. I have a knack for looking through people, and, believe me, I'll know when you lie."  
Sidney swallowed nervously, and, even in the freezing cold of winter, their hands began to grow hot.   
Nicholas opened his mouth to speak, but a loud knock on the door prevented him. "Come in."  
The door slid open, and Sidney turned to face the two men that had just entered. One man, the tallest, was scarred, and one of his eyes was misty; most likely because of a prior accident. The other was-  _Holy shit._  
Sidney's jaw literally dropped open as they muttered those two words. They could only stare at each other in moments of disbelief, before Sidney managed to choke out, "D-Dad?"  
"Sidney?" The man held out his gloved hands as the others witnessed the reunion.   
However, Sidney refrained from jumping out of their seat. Instead, tears welled in their eyes. "This is what you abandoned me for? You abandoned me to become a murderer?"  
"M-Murderer? Son, no, we aren't-" The father stuttered, at an utter loss for words at the sight of his returned son.  
Slow clapping ripped them out of their trance. "How very heartwarming; a reunion. Now, what was it you two wanted?"  
The other man answered in place of the overjoyed father, "I came to inform you that we've found wounded."   
"Wounded? Let me see."  
         Nicholas nonchalantly pushed the man out of the doorway, and, even when their father was right in front of them, Sidney caught sight of Rose, unconscious and being wheeled somewhere.


	11. Liar, Liar

Rose's eyes fluttered open, and the pain from her wound rushed back raw and anew. She heaved herself up from her place on the floor with a grunt, placing a hand on her side for stability. The woman raised her shirt and braced herself for what she might see; a bloody bandage wrapped around her stomach. Rose lifted the bandage and studied the stinging bullet hole. "I don't think you want to be messing with that, Rose," a voice sounded.   
Her head whipped up, and, panting, she caught sight of a strange man. "Who are you? Where am I?" Rose asked, wildly looking around her cell like a cornered animal.   
"You're in good hands. For now, at least."   
"How do you know my name?" She brought her knees up to her chest, which brought a new wave of pain.   
"A friend of yours, if he's not lying. We have him."   
"Who? Who do you have?"   
"His name is Sidney, correct? I believe he'll be just fine here. He did take my fancy, after all."   
"Sidney?" Rose lurched forwards to the cell bars and looked up at the man. "Why am I in here? Where is Sidney?" Her voice grew more panicked by each word she spoke.   
"He, like you, is in good hands. He has found his father."   
"His father? I thought his father was gone.."   
"Doesn't feel good to be lied to, does it?" The man mocked.    
"Lying?" Rose's grew raspy in desperation. "Sidney wouldn't lie to me!"   
"Wouldn't he?" The man backed away from the cell bars and, taking one last glance at Rose, whispered, "Think about it," before exiting the cold, dark room.   
               Rose shivered and sunk back into the cell corner; the men had taken her jacket and weapons. Fragile light streamed through a small window just outside the cell's bars; barely enough to alight anything but dust that floated through its path. A rattling noise alerted Rose, but it came from the darkness; she beat on the bars, which uttered another rattle and a groan.   
             From the darkness burst a hand into the light, stained with old blood and flesh torn off to reveal some of the bone. It scratched the concrete floor, leaving subtle marks before retracting back into the dark.   
               Sidney rejected their father's advances, pushing him roughly away. "Sidney what has gotten into you?"   
"You abandoned me and left me to die, and I would have died if it weren't for Rose! I want to go see her!"   
"You can't right now, Sidney. She's wounded and needs help."   
Sidney bit their father's arm that had been wrapped around themselves as a restraint and shouted, "She's only wounded because of you fuckers!"   
"Sidney! Don't you-"   
"Actually, Mr. Ross, your son is free to go visit her, but, being yourself, I'm sure you'd like to accompany them?"   
"Of course, yes. Sidney, let's go," the father gently grabbed Sidney's arm and redirected them.   
             Sidney, however, yanked their arm out of the other's grasp and walked on ahead, even if they didn't know where they were going. Their father's large stride helped him catch up with his son, but he didn't dare to speak to them now. "In here, Sidney. I think they put her in here." After a pause,  he added, "Her name was Rose, right?"   
                Sidney ignored him and barged into the room, exclaiming upon the sight of her, "Rose!"   
Rose shuffled up to the bars. "Sidney! Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?"   
"That one asshole kick me a bunch of times, but yeah. Did they hurt you?"   
"No. Other than the gunshot wound, I think I'm fine."   
"Sidney watch out!" The man shouted, pushing the youngster out of the pouncing walker's grasp.   
"What the hell? Why are there walkers in here?" Sidney demanded. Thankfully, the chain around the walkers neck flung it back to the wall.   
"I don't know, son, but you two need to move quickly."   
"Why? What for?" Sidney questioned, frazzled by the swift man.   
"I'm getting you two out of here. This is where we usually put wounded," he paused and continued with a bit of remorse, "to turn them. I have the keys to this cell, being the only one with medical experience, in case something happens to the brain."   
"Then hurry! Get her the hell out of there!" Sidney urged.   
The man finally managed to unlock the door despite his shaking hands, and Rose wasted no time in hobbling herself out.   
"Are you okay? Are you sure you can walk?"   
"I think so," Rose grunted, pain wracking her side. "But we have to move slowly for my sake."   
"Yeah, sure."   
Rose looked up at the man. "What's your name?"   
"Joseph. Joseph Ross."    
"I'm Rose; Rose Tristen."   
"When you're out," Joseph put his hands on Rose's shoulders, "take good care of my son."   
"Of course. It's what I've been doing since I met them," Rose assured with a smile.   
"I can tell. Thank you, Rose, for everything with Sidney."   
"Not a problem, Joseph."   
"You two should go on now; I'll keep watch for you."   
Rose looked back from the doorway Sidney was all-too-eager to get through and said, "Thank you," before being rushed out by Sidney who didn't bother to say a word.   
                  Rose held onto Sidney's hand as she creaked open a door to a room. Evidently, the man inside noticed and spoke, "Someone there?" He got up and strolled towards the door, and Rose jumped up and pushed him against his desk at just the right moment. The man threw her off of himself and slammed her against the wall, which Sidney registered as their cue to join in. Grabbing a lamp from the floor that had rolled off the desk, Sidney held back no strength as they smashed it against the man's bald head.    
                  Rose watched as he fell to the ground, knocked unconscious by the force of the lamp. "No need to kill him. Come on, let's go," Rose whispered, exiting the room and finding herself in a hallway. Sidney and Rose walked silently down the long hallway, and, before long, they heard shouts from below.   
                    Rose hobbled down the stairs with Sidney's aassistance and found the same man that had spoken to her in the cell as well as a group of other men standing in the middle of the room. "Nicholas..?" Sidney whispered.   
They were close enough to faintly hear his speech, "So, we've found our little theif, have we?" Nicholas sighed. "Do you remember what I said if I ever caught you in the city again? Much less, stealing from us? A fate worse than death, some would say. Don't you agree?"   
Muffled noises ensued.    
Nicholas made a 'tch' sound and stared down at her.   
Meanwhile, Sidney had been long aiming their firearm at Nicholas. "Rose, we need to help them," Sidney begged in a coarse whisper.   
"Yeah, we should, but now would be our chance to esape. If there were more than one gunshot, we'd alert the whole building."   
"But that person needs help. Did you hear what he said?"   
"Yeah, but I don't have a weapon; and I'm certainly not in the shape to help you," Rose informed, her hand still placed on the wound.    
"Then maybe they can help themselves; find something to fight back with once I shoot one of these fuckers."   
"Be careful," Rose advised.    
        Sidney narrowed their eyes and pulled the trigger, landing a shot in one of the poor man's legs. They didn't hesitate to fire another, this time landing one on another man's arm. Nicholas had caught on after the first fire and had brandished one of his own guns. He pressed it against the stranger's temple and mocked, "You shoot; I shoot. Come out, and nobody else gets hurt."   
              Sidney's weapon remained raised, and they contemplated what to do. "Just wait," Rose whispered. "Hand me your gun," She insisted, aiming when Sidney did as they were told. "You might be surprised, but archery's done a lot for me." Rose squeezed the trigger, hitting Nicholas's hand, which forced him to throw the gun down. The stranger saw their open window and dove for it, kicking Nicholas's feet; Rose then shot one of the guards' legs, causing him to topple over as well.   
          The stranger kicked their guns away and punched the remaining guard's stomach, following it up with a kick. Sidney rushed down to the stranger, a limping Rose in pursuit. The woman, from the looks of it, picked up Nicholas's gun, shot him without hesitation, and pointed it at the two of them. "Who are you?" She demanded.   
"I'm Rose, this is Sidney; we were just getting out of this place," The other woman explained. "We really need to go; the gunshots would've alerted the others in this building by now. You can come with us."   
"Sure, I'll follow you out, but I'm not going with you."   
"That's fine. We just need to go."    
                 Rose, Sidney, and the stranger rushed out of the building, but they had other problems at hand: soldiers still roamed the city. "How're we going to get past the soldiers in the city?" Sidney questioned, peeking around a corner.   
"Not my problem," the woman answered, already off on her own way.   
"You're welcome, asshole!" Sidney half-shouted to the stranger, enraged that getting abandoned was all of a thank you they were going to get.    
The stranger audibly sighed and half-heartedly glared at them. "Meet me outside the city, and we'll talk," she muttered.    
                Thankfully, the snow had calmed down considerably, and Rose could see without having to strain her eyes. "Where do we go, Rose?"    
"I think I might be able to help you with that," a man spoke from behind.   
          The pair turned, only to find Joseph smiling a little pridefully. Sidney groaned and turned their back to him, but Rose offered a welcome, even if it was only because he'd be able to find them a way out. "Glad you showed up," Rose said. "How are we getting out of here?"   
"Well, I suppose you could just walk with me. They all recognize me; won't think anything of it."   
Sidney muttered, "Whatever.."   
Rose sighed. "I hope you're a good liar."   
"I'm sure he'll do just fine on that part," Sidney grumbled.   
"C'mon, let's go," Joseph demanded, poking Rose's back with his firearm.    
             Sidney stood and joined Rose in being herded around by, what they considered, their no-good, lying father. Joseph lead them through the thick, deep snow that had taken its place in the roads, but Sidney soon stopped in realization. "What about Micheal and Lidia?"   
Rose intently looked at Sidney, clearly hoping that they wouldn't have thought of them. "We have to leave, Sidney, and get somewhere safe. After we do, and get sorted out, we'll look for them, okay?"   
"But, Rose, what if something bad happened to them?" Sidney asked, their voice laced with despiration.   
She shrugged, her face showing her remorse on abandoning them. "I don't know, but chances are, if nothing happened to them, that they're looking for somewhere safe, too."   
"I know you're right, but I can't help but worry," Sidney whispered, lowering their gaze to the snow beneath.    
"It's alright." Rose rested a hand on their shoulder. "We need to go now."   
          Sidney nodded, and Joseph urged them on, until the three reached the familiar shop where this started. The corpse still laid there; the blood pooled around his neck. It couldn't be long now until he turned, if he wasn't frozen yet. The corpse caught Joseph's eye, and he nearly did a double-take, stopping in his tracks at the sight. "Did you two do this..?" He whispered, lowering his weapon.   
"Actually I did," Sidney answered, a mocking smile plastered on their face.    
"O-Of course. It was necessary, though, wasn't it?"   
"Depends. Maybe we could've gone around him, maybe not, but you weren't there," Sidney said, their words merely a whisper as they added, "You never were.."   
"L-Let's go before something else happens; we're nearly there."   
"We're not stupid," They muttered, not even bothering to look back.   
             Joseph hid his hurt expression and trudged onwards, and, finally, the group exited the city with minimal complications. Not even yards out of the city, Jonathan merely said, "Rose?"   
She turned, freezing as his weapon was pointed right at her. "Y-Yes..?"   
"You can go on, now. Sidney and I'll be just fine together."   
Sidney cast a disgusted glance at the man and whispered, "Told you he was a good liar."


	12. Old Friends

             Mark's breath heavily heaved in and out as he pushed a ripped, broken couch against the front door of his new shelter. The man plopped himself down of the brown couch, sighing and rubbing his face with his scarred hand. Mark sat back and stared up at the ceiling, before the growling of his stomach broke him out of his peaceful trance.  
             He pushed himself up; the force of which ushered another coughing fit from his weakened lungs. The noise from the fit irritated the walkers outside, causing them to release their irritation by scratching their rotten nails on the wooden door and snarling. The noise of the screeching forced Mark to shiver, like when one hears a fork rubbing against a plate.   
             Mark continued on into the kitchen of the house and dug through the cabinets, only being able to find a box not even half-full with stale cereal. However, this didn't deter his demanding stomach as he practically tore it open, little of shoveling it in his mouth with his hands.   
            After losing Brie, Mark had decided to move out of the dilapidated building, motivated even more by the fact that the fence was down and the neighborhood was overrun with walkers. His brow creased in sudden aggression; it was all her damn fault. Natalie caused this, was the thought Mark had convinced himself to be true. If only he hadn't let her get away, and if only he had killed her then and there, maybe Brie would still be with him.  
            Mark sighed and threw the empty box on the floor; the dull, but loud, noise of the box hitting the floor only alerted the walkers at the door even more. He stumbled his way back to the couch, coughing a few times as he did so, and picked up his bat, which was stained with dry blood. The lips of Mark's mouth tugged downwards; tears welling in his eyes.  
              She had turned so quickly. Rose had escaped not even thirty minutes before she came back, and Mark was so filled with grief he hadn't even registered her teeth sinking into his upper arm. That was why he now held his bat with his right hand, having previously been left-handed.   
                Mark had passed out after amputation; whether it be from blood loss or shock, he'd never know, but he wished for death nevertheless. However, it never came; he had survived, and he was indifferent about it. That's what angered him; he was indifferent about it.  
     A man who had previously done anything to survive, be it theivery or murder, was now indifferent to the very thing he had fought so hard to do. As hard as he tried to find a spark of something, something to make him feel, he just couldn't; until now.   
            Now, his negative thoughts were redirected to something else; someone else who stole from him. Rose, the woman who had stolen from him his love, his life, and his will to live. So, he concluded, he would do the same to her; steal from her her loved ones, just as she had done to him. No, Mark was sure he wasn't going to kill Rose; she needed to be kept alive. In times like these, being killed is a privelege and being kept alive is being put in hell.   
            Mark gripped the handle of his bat tightly and walked away from the couch, dragging his weapon on the wooden floor as he did so. He weakly opened the back screen door to the house, and a walker stood, almost seeming inoccent as it took a few seconds for it to register that a person was standing in front of it. However, even before it could lunge and attach itself onto his flesh, Mark swung the bat once and down the walker went, killed in one swift, powerful stroke.   
               He looked onwards toward the country plains, where fields of dead corn and other crops laid, where laid his freedom, and where laid his revenge.   
  
           


	13. Crossroads

Elizabeth stumbled around the rotten beams of wood that laid upon the ground, making sure her foot landed in just the right places. The house she traversed was mere ashes and smoldered wood at this point, but she trudged on in hopes of finding something that may help her.  
Looking back, the young woman yelled, "It's alright, Allie! You can come over now."  
The girl, who was far behind the woman, slowly advanced but looked warily about herself. "Are you sure, Elizabeth? They're not here, right?" Allie shouted to the tan woman, her French accent laced within her speech.   
Elizabeth looked back at the other, stopping to allow her to catch up. "They managed to burn some houses down, but I think they're gone." With a reassuring smile, she added, "Don't worry, Allie. We'll be fine."  
"If you're sure.." The girl mumbled, hopping over a small pile of burnt rubble in her haste to catch up with her companion.   
                Once Allie was safe with Elizabeth, the pair walked through the neighborhood, taking in the sight of the houses burned to ash and the paint smeared on the sides of intact buildings. The paint was arranged in the shape of a phoenix, but the currently falling snow hindered the complete view from the two wanderers. Elizabeth pointed to the artwork and said, "See that, Allie?"  
The named nodded in response.  
"I don't think that's new. I think we'll be safe here."   
"Wait- We're staying here?" Allie asked, tapping Elizabeth's shoulder to emphasize her surprise.   
"If we find a house that we like; why not?"  
"But.. What if they come back through here?"  
Elizabeth scoffed playfully, a smile on her face. "I doubt they will. They burned some of the neighborhood, after all."  
"Yeah, but-" Allie stopped, her shoulders slumping down. "Who's that?"  
              Elizabeth looked forward toward the empty street, only to see a walker stumbling mindlessly towards them. "Oh, that's nothing, Allie. Just a walker."  
"Are you sure?" Allie questioned, squinting her eyes in an attempt to see clearly.  
"Of course. Who else would-?" Elizabeth's sentence was cut short as the walker took one last step before falling forward onto the pavement. "Come on; let's go check it out," She commanded, stretching out her words as she pulled her knife out of her rather long boots.  
               Elizabeth and Allie slowly sulked towards the fallen figure, and both watched in tense silence as they waited for it to do anything. To their surprise, it remained still until Elizabeth decided to push it over onto its back. Disproving Elizabeth's assumption, the figure was not a walker; it was most definitely alive but unconscious.  
               The man's eyelids cracked open, and the sudden stream of light caused the already present headache to worsen. He groaned and lifted his arm in a weak attempt to grab at something for support. "Allie, don't!" Elizabeth shouted, grabbing the red-hilted knife from the girl's ready hands. "He's still alive, Allie."  
The man's arm retracted to his head to rub the aching spot.  
"Can you hear me?" Elizabeth asked, resting her hands on either side of his head. "Can you tell me your name?"  
The man coughed violently before croaking out, "My name.. My name is M-Mark."  
Allie stepped backwards. "Elizabeth, no! We can't keep  _him._ "  
"And why not? He needs help, Allie."  
"Remember the man Natalie was talking about? This is him!"  
"Stop being paranoid. Look at the state he's in, Allie! Even if he did want to do something to her, I doubt he could. Besides, I thought she said he was dead."  
"She said she didn't know what happened to him, and that he may as well be."  
"I wonder if he knows where her group is, then."  
Allie rolled her eyes. "I doubt he would tell, anyways."  
With a grunt, Elizabeth heaved Mark to the side to test his weight. "He's heavy. Allie, go back to the group and get the others; tell them we found this neighborhood and Mark."  
Allie cast a suspicious glance at her, refusing to move.  
"Go on. We can't just let him die."  
Allie sighed. "Alright, fine, but I'm telling you, they won't let us keep him."  
"Just go; I'll watch him. Be careful."  
"I will," she muttered, jogging back the way they came.  
                Meanwhile, as Allie ran her way back to their group, Elizabeth lightly tapped the side of Mark's face. "Stay with me, okay? I'm going to get you some water as soon as the others get here," she whispered, checking her surroundings before looking back down at Mark. "Which is hopefully soon."  
              Within twenty minutes, Allie had returned with the rest of the group; a measly three people was all that returned. However, within the group was one familiar face: twenty-three-year-old Natalie following Allie and a man. Once Elizabeth caught sight of them, she hurriedly called them over and shouted, "Hurry! He's gonna freeze to death!"  
The man took off in a run, slamming into a halt mere feet away from Elizabeth. "Who's this guy? Where'd you find 'im?"  
"That doesn't matter, Lucas. Let's just get him inside!"  
           Lucas and Elizabeth both heaved Mark up on his feet so his unconscious body was standing in between the two. "Tall.." Elizabeth whispered, practically dragging Mark into the nearest house with Lucas. Allie and Natalie took their time walking behind the others, and, with her, Natalie carried a duffle bag storing the supplies from the small group.  
"Did.." Natalie started but decided to rephrase her sentence after a slight pause. "Do you know who this man is?"  
"Well, maybe.. He said his name was Mark."  
"Mark? You mean-?"  
"There are a lot of Marks in this world, Natalie. I don't know. He did only have one arm."  
Natalie frowned. "He had both the last time I saw him."  
Allie simply shrugged. "Probably lost it to a walker; happens often."  
"Yeah.. I guess.."  
"And what about the other member of your group? Rose was it? Did she see him?"  
"I don't really know. Like I said, we got separated before then."  
"Yeah, I know. Sorry about that, by the way." By now, Allie and Natalie had reached the house. "Do you want to see him? Mark, I mean."  
Natalie hesitated.  
"He probably won't wake up until later, so, y'know."  
"Yeah, sure," Natalie mumbled, stepping into the open door.  
                 Elizabeth and Lucas had already laid Mark down on the couch, and he lay motionless and unaware of the potential threat that walked near his sleeping form. The thought of killing him, however, hadn't even registered as an option in Natalie's mind; in her mind, everything deserved another chance, so, after looking at him for fleeting moments, she simply stood and left the room.  
             Shouts from a connected room drew Natalie's attention from the drawings she had been looking at. Lucas's voice sounded, "Colder? Really? Where do you suggest we go? Canada? Minnesota is cold enough for me!"  
"Relax, Lucas! It was only a damn suggestion!"  
"I think it's a good idea," Allie broke in, her quiet voice a sort of calm to the clamor.   
Natalie peeked inside.   
"Natalie! What do you think?" Elizabeth suddenly asked, her gaze directed toward the shy woman.  
"Yeah, I think we should.."  
"Three against one, Lucas." Turning quickly, Elizabeth exclaimed, "Oh, I forgot! Allie has your knife, Natalie."  
Allie's memories seemed to be triggered, too, as she handed Natalie her knife.  
              A moan and shuffling caught the attention of the group, and Elizabeth was the first to enter the living room, her own knife in hand. Mark was sitting upright as he sighed and rubbed his eyes with his only hand. "Where am I?" He quietly asked, his tiredness evident in his low voice. "Who are you?"  
"We brought you here. Mark, right? You passed out on the street," Elizabeth answered. "Are you alright?"  
"Yes, thank you, but-" His eyes fell upon Natalie. " _You!"_ Mark's voice turned into a sudden snarl.  
               Natalie yelped in surprise as Mark suddenly lunged forward, only using his raw strength as his weapon.


	14. To Be Alive Again

((A/N: So, I just want to put a trigger warning at the beginning of this one just to be on the safe side. Do not fear, author notes will be rare.))  
  
  
7:43 A.M.  
Two months before the outbreak.  
  
       Sidney awoke from their sleeping state, only to be greeted by the pacing footfalls of their father. Joseph hadn't been getting much sleep after  _she_  had died, and Sidney's early awakening was a sign that his pacing was getting disruptive.  
          As of a typical teenager, Sidney was used to sleeping in on the mornings, but, for the sake of at least pretending that they cared about their father, Sidney pulled themselves out of bed. They often wondered why their father even cared; after all, he wasn't even there during those few paralyzingly nerve-wracking days.   
            Sidney sighed as they stomped down the stairs, and their growing body already demanded food in the form of a growling stomach. They slid their hand through their ruffled, slightly greasy hair and reluctantly walked into the connecting room, past the place where the solution to their body's demands lay.  
"Dad," Sidney groaned. "What's wrong with you?"  
"I'm just thinking," Joseph curtly answered, continuing his pacing without so much as a glance at his son.  
"Why do you even care? You weren't there," Sidney grumbled, in far too bad of a mood to pride themselves in their unintentional rhyme."Don't you dare start with that," Joseph demanded, raising his voice only slightly.  
"Fine, fine, but it's not like you missed her funeral or anything," Sidney tempted, ruffling their hair once more and wandering off into the kitchen.  
"I was half way across the country, for God's sake! What the hell did you  _expect_  me to do?" The elder shouted.  
Sidney scrunched up their noise in displeasure at their father's tone. "So, what? Are you just going to live your life in regret and not give a shit about your kids? Just because you've stopped eating, doesn't mean everybody else will."  
"Just shut up and go back up to your room," Their father sighed, slouching down on the couch.  
"And why should I?" Sidney dared, taking out a jar of peanut butter from a cabinet and eating it as is.  
Joseph didn't look up when he answered, "Because I don't want to see you anymore."  
Sidney's mouth pulled down into a scowl, and they muttered under their breath, "Asshole."  
            Without another word to their father, Sidney stomped upstairs, hoping that their stomps sufficed in communicating their anger. Leaning from his own doorway stood the young boy's older brother, flashing them a lop-sided smile. "Hey, kid," He brightly greeted, ruffling their dark hair. "Is dad any better?"  
Sidney's shoulders relaxed, as they were previously tensed from their anger. "Not one bit."  
"That's a shame," He whispered, his grin slowly faltering. "Anyway, whadd'ya say about going to town to see Aunt Mary?"  
Sidney smiled. "Yeah, sure; it's not like dad will care anyway. But, isn't it, like, five hours away?"  
"Does it matter, Sid? You'll be gone longer, and maybe she'll let us stay the night."  
Sidney looked up at him without even half a minute's worth of debating and enthusiasticly answered, "Hell yeah!"  
"Just a sec'. Gonna write the old man a note."  
             The brother finished up his note and laid it outside his open door, and it read as follows: 'Yo, me and Sid are going over to Aunt Mary's, so don't worry about us. She might let us stay the night.   
                                         - Kegan'  
  
"Alright, little man, let's go," Kegan said, grabbing his helmet helmet that sat on the very top of the stairs and handing it to Sidney. "You can wear it; I'll be fine."  
           Sidney proudly wore their brother's bike helmet and followed him out of the house, trampling on a faded, green mat that bore the word 'Welcome'. Beside the house to the left sat Kegan's motercycle, and the owner of said vehicle mounted and started the engine, patting the padded seat behind his own. Sidney hopped up behind their brother, holding on to his sides as the two sped off.  
  
3:49 P.M.   
A week before the outbreak.  
  
             Kegan and Sidney snuggled up to eachother, both wrapped in blankets as their eyes were trained on the T.V. before them. Neither really bothered to watch the news prior, but this they considered too interesting not to. "Holy shit!" Sidney exclaimed. "Did they really shoot him six times? And he's still going?"  
Kegan, who, being more mature, was stricken with worry at the sight, but he nevertheless feigned laughter. "Damn, I guess so."  
Joseph strolled in on his two sons, taking a peek at the television. "Something the matter, boys?"  
Sidney scrambled off of Kegan's shoulders and to their own spot. "Dad, check this out,"              They hurriedly exclaimed, rewinding the program for their father to witness the scene.  
The man sighed deeply. "That's strange.." Still keeping his eyes on the T.V., Joseph awkwardly tapped the top of the object and walked back into the kitchen. "Keep an eye out for anything."  
"Yeah.." Kegan muttered. "Will do."  
              Even when the others were visibly disturbed by the predicament, Sidney remained awe-stricken and naive.   
  
1:32 A.M.  
Three weeks after the outbreak; the day Kegan went missing.   
  
          Sidney tossed and turned, grumbling to themselves about the thunder that still rang in their ears. They dejectedly sat up, giving up on sleep completely and tiptoed out of their room. Sidney traversed the messy hallway and knocked on Kegan's door; receiving no answer, they figured he was still asleep and let themselves in.   
               However, Sidney was met only with an empty bed and bunched up sheets, and, on the desk near the bed, still laid the note Kegan had written to their father; Joseph hadn't bothered to check with them, and Kegan hadn't bothered to clean his room.   
               They slowly shut the door and made their way down the stairs, careful not to wake up their father. Sidney peeked outside and, at this point, began to panic; Kegan's motercycle was missing from its usual place.  
               As the kid jumped back from the blinds, an expression of panic began to show on their face, and they dashed up the stairs, barging into Joseph's room and shaking him awake. "Dad! Dad, wake up! Kegan's missing!" Sidney shouted desperately.  
  
5:18 P.M.  
Three years after the outbreak.   
  
            Rose and Sidney both entered Sidney's former home; everything had remained untouched since she had found them. Rose, with her hook in hand, waited at the bottom of the steps as Sidney jogged up. "What did you need again, Sidney?" She yelled up, her voice muffled by the walls of Kegan's room.  
"I just wanted to see something is all! Don't worry!" They yelled back, carefully stepping over piles of clothes in their brother's messy room.  
                 There it laid; the note that Kegan had written years ago. Sidney, unlike before, finally bothered to pick it up and read it over and over again before folding it and placing it in their hoodie's pocket. Sidney quickly descended and was greeted by Rose's voice, "That was quick. Did you get what you needed?"  
"Yeah, I got it." They patted their pocket. "I think I know where we should go next."  
Rose looked down. "Where's that?"  
Sidney smiled, rubbing the back of their neck shyly. "I know it's far, but we could go to my aunt's house. You know, for old time's sake."


	15. Where We Roam

 "Get the fuck off of her!" Elizabeth's voice rang as she dug her nails into Mark's shoulders, attempting to throw him off of the other girl. Thankfully, Mark was not yet accustomed to the lesser strength of having only one arm and was easily separated from Natalie by Lucas and Elizabeth.   
          Lucas held Mark back, allowing Elizabeth time to help the flustered woman up."Are you okay, Natalie?" She asked, looking her over.  
"Yeah, yeah, I think I'm fine-"  
"What the hell is your problem?!" Lucas' demand sounded, cutting off the rest of Natalie's sentence.  
Mark heaved out a shaky cough before shouting in response, "My problem is that this bitch here is the reason my wife is dead!"  
"Natalie told us her story, and she didn't do shit!" Elizabeth countered.  
"Well, her fucking friends did, and if I can't find them, she'll have to do."  
"Shut the hell up," Lucas said, standing in between the three. "We saved your sorry life, and you'll respect us here!"  
"Should've just left me out there, then," he muttered, letting his arm flop to the ground.  
"It's too late for that now," Elizabeth sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Unless you want to wander out in negative-degree weather, I suggest you get along with the rest of us."  
"And this is it? Just four of you?" Mark asked, not bothering to shift his gaze from the ceiling.  
"If you join us, that'd be six. Another should be joining us shortly," She said, walking back over to Mark. "Do you need some help?"  
"No," he grumbled, slowly pushing himself up with his arm. "I'm fine."  
            Casting a hostile glare at Natalie, Mark finally managed to get himself back up on his feet, tensing as he tried to supress the thoughts going through his mind; thoughts he didn't  _want_  to have but couldn't control. The kind of thoughts that make you question yourself and what you've become.  
              Sighing deeply, Mark stumbled his way back over to the couch he was resting on but was overcome by a series of coughing. The group relaxed at his passive state, and Elizabeth decided to speak, "So is there something wrong with you? The coughing, I mean. Are you sick or something?"  
Panting from the ordeal, Mark gruffly answered, "It's just my asthma. I used to take something for it, but now it's hard to come by."  
            A knock at the door jolted unexpectant Mark upright, but he relaxed as Lucas said, "It's probably just Jenna. I'll get it." The handle to the door clicked as Lucas opened it, and Jenna, having only a zip-up jacket to protect her dark, nearly frost-bitten skin from the cold, eagerly stepped inside to join her group. Jenna and Allie went unnoticed as they stepped out of the room to go through the small bag of supplies she had managed to bring back.  
             Lucas turned to join the two girls, but Elizabeth and Natalie both stayed behind. The elder of the two spoke, "And what was it called; your medicine?"  
Mark grumbled something. "Hell if I can remember. Theo-something."  
"Alright, then," Elizabeth sighed, rubbing the side of her face; the dark circles under her eyes gave insight to many sleepless nights. "Natalie, why don't you go check with Jenna and see if she managed to scrounge anything up like that? I'll keep on eye on him."  
"Okay.." She meekly whispered, disappearing into the connecting dining room.  
Mark kept his gaze lowered to the ground, ignoring Elizabeth's piercing one."So you're the guy, huh? What the hell happened to Natalie's group?" She demanded, keeping her voice a harsh whisper so as not to alert the others.  
"I don't goddamn know! I thought it was just Rose, but apparently she had a couple others with her," he whispered just as harshly back.  
"Who? She said they were dead." Elizabeth cast a suspicious glare, folding her arms.  
"Like I said, I  _don't know._ They got out after-"  Mark's voice suddenly caught in his throat, even catching him by surprise. "-after they shot my wife."  
"And where was Natalie?"  
"Away. She escaped me somewhere along a road, but I kept her horse."  
Natalie slowly shuffled back in and shook her head, whispering, "Jenna doesn't have any."  
"Guess we'll have to find some later," Elizabeth muttered. Raising her voice, she added, "So are you staying with us or going back out in the cold? Be reasonable."  
Mark grunted as he looked at Natalie, before hesitantly responding with a sigh, "If I'm being reasonable, I'm staying."

           Sidney cast a disgusted glance at the man, muttering, "Told you he was a good liar." Joseph discarded their comment and kept his attention on Rose, who stood frozen in place. Sidney watched in amusement as the stranger, who had agreed to meet them outside the city, strode towards them and aimed Nicholas' firearm at their father.   
              Joseph, however, heard the snow crunch under the weight of the stranger, and multiple things happened at once. First, Sidney quickly stepped aside to avoid the stranger; second, the stranger pulled the trigger, and, third, Rose fell to the ground in shock at the sudden rush of action. Her already existing bullet wound, however, did much to bring her down.   
               Sidney, eyes wide, stared at his father's body; they had wanted this, but Sidney only now realized that they were completely alone. Of all their small family, they were the sole survivor. The stranger rushed up to Rose and offered her her hand; Sidney quickly followed behind. "Are you okay, Rose?" Sidney asked, looking her over for any new wounds they knew weren't there anyway.   
"I think so," Rose muttered, her teeth clenched together as a stabbing pain coursed through her torso. "It's just.. the place.. where I was shot.." She choked out, pausing to cope with the throbbing wound.  
"We really need to get her somewhere safer," the woman muttered, mostly to herself. "What's your name?"  
"Sidney; that's Rose."  
"Good to know. I'm Lea," she spoke hurriedly, already walking down the path with Sidney in pursuit.   
"So, do you-"  
"Do you know a place where she can rest?" Lea interrupted.  
Sidney inhaled sharply before responding, "That's what I was going to ask you."  
Lea frowned slightly. "That's too bad. If we don't find a place, we can't get her wound cleaned, and it'll only get worse."  
"What about-"  
"And don't even think about going back into the city. Even if Nicholas is dead, the others aren't; they'll catch on soon enough."  
Sidney furrowed their brows. "But-"  
"What?"   
"There were some others we had split up with in the city.. I guess it's too late now."  
"Damn right, if you want your friend to survive."  
"Why are you helping us?"  
"Are you complaining?"  
"No, I just-"  
"Then quiet down."  
             Sidney folded their arms and hugged themselves, carefully watching Lea's stiff movements. Rose's left arm was swung around her shoulder, Lea's right arm was around her waist, and her left arm was holding Rose's left in place. Sidney, feeling a bit useless in the situation, decided to chip in and swing Rose's remaining right arm around their shoulders, mirroring Lea's position.  
Rose weakly muttered a, "Thank you."  
            Slowly shuffling through the rapidly falling snow, Sidney suddenly felt a twinge of guilt, which they disregarded in the fear that acknowledging it would only make it worse. Sidney's worried expression was turned into one of curiosity when they felt Lea stop walking and sigh.  
"Something wro- Oh," Sidney remarked, staring at the frozen horde they had traveled through with Lidia.  
"They're fine to pass through, right?" Lea asked; despite her serious face, Sidney could hear the slight worry.   
"Should be. Rose and I passed through on the way in," Sidney reassured, their voice confident in contrast to Lea's.  
          Without answering, Lea pressed on and made sure to keep her distance from the first walker they encountered, just to be sure. It merely stood there; it's eyes following their bodies in hunger. The three trudged on, and, finally, the snow began to let up. Lea stopped again, squinting her eyes. "Do you hear-? Ah!" She gasped, suddenly pulled away from Rose.  
            Rose fell back on Sidney, and it was only until they had managed to roll Rose off of them that Sidney caught sight of what happened. A walker had grabbed ahold of Lea's shoulders and pulled her back, attempting to bite and tear through her. Lea had pushed it down and shot it before it could do any further damage.   
             Sidney stood up, still hazy from the sudden movement, and groaned as they tried to pick Rose back up. Lea soon joined them and, with the other's help, effortlessly resumed their previous position. "Shit!" Sidney exclaimed. "I thought they were supposed to be frozen!"  
"Me too," Lea whispered. The corpse was spotted with frost but had no wounds, meaning the previous inhabitant died of natural cause. She concluded this, "The virus might be adapting."


	16. Fear is Why We're Still Here

"Adapting? What do you-"  
"I'll explain it later, Sidney. We  _really_  need to get Rose help," Lea stressed, nearly glaring at Sidney for extra emphasis on 'really'.  
"Yeah, yeah, sorry.." They whispered, shifting their weight to the right to better cope with Rose's own weight.   
"Here, stop," Lea said, suddenly letting go of Rose. "There's a car."  
Sidney grunted with the sudden weight and advised, "We'd better not waste our time with it. We passed by some on the-" A car engine shut them up.  
"Come on; hurry," Lea rushed as she helped Sidney, still quite confused, get Rose and themselves into the car.   
            The car wasn't covered with snow and frozen over like all the rest of the abandoned vehicles. As they watched Lea lay Rose down in the backseat from their own passenger seat, Sidney wearily spoke up, "Are you sure this is abandoned? Is it okay to take?"  
Lea hurriedly buckled herself in and only when they were slowly rolling away did she finally answer, "If someone offered you candy or chocolate or whatever kids like, would you take it?"  
"I guess," Sidney muttered, drawing out their words as they looked at the mirror beside them, catching a glimpse of a faint silhouette. Their voice barely a whisper they tried to add, "Hey, there-"  
"Well, don't."  
"What?" They asked, turning their head to face the driver.  
"Don't take it unless you really need to. It could be dangerous," Lea's words lessened in volume by the end of her sentence. "What were you saying?"  
"Um. Nevermind." Sidney's gaze turned back towards the window. "So, where are you from?"  
"I was born and raised in Japan. We had recently had a breakthrough in neuroscience, so I was called over here to study it more in-depth."  
Sidney jumped up. "Breakthrough?"  
Lea shook her head. "I don't think it was this."  
"But, if you wanted to, could you study this thing?"  
"If I had the right facilities and the right specimen, but.. that might not be for a while."  
Sidney slunk back into their seat, trying to guess at what they had just drove over, but they continued, "When you said the virus was 'adapting'-?"  
"Well, that was just a guess. Because the virus takes over already deceased hosts, the dead bodies would freeze in cold like this, but if the virus is adapting so strongly where the deceased hosts are even beginning to adapt, we might have a bigger problem. Who knows what else they could potentially adapt to."  
"You seem to know a lot about this for a neuroscientist."  
"Neurologist, and, yes, it's clear the virus takes over the brain, which may make it a little easier to understand."   
"So," Sidney looked at Lea, "you might be able to fix this?"  
"I didn't say that. I only said it might be a little easier to understand. That's the thing; we have to understand it before we can start potentially curing it, which who knows how long that'll take."  
Sidney faced forward, sighing. "Where are we going, anyway?"  
"Away from the city. Probably to some neighborhood so we can find someplace for Rose and start treating her wounds, and that's another thing; expect the worst. There's a chance she won't survive this."  
                 Sidney writhed in their seat until they managed to prop themselves up next to the window and let out an over-the-top sigh, before muttering, "I know."  
                  Lea finally slowed the car down when a figure suddenly jumped out in front of them, waving their arms frantically. This caught Sidney's attention as well as they sat straight up in surprise. "Who's- Hey, Lea, don't go out there!" They shouted, sticking their arm out after her.  
"Just stay here. They might need help," she commanded, her hand resting on her weapon.  
             The figure suddenly lurched forward, shouting something unintelligible from Sidney's view. Lea, however, yelled, "Shit!" loud enough for them to hear, and she grabbed the person's wrist and pulled them down beside the car just as an array of bullets struck the ground.  
             Sidney knew this as a cue to duck down, which they did not seconds before bullets met the car, flinging shards of glass in every direction with a loud crash. Movement caught their eye as Rose shifted in her position before falling still again. The barrage of bullets suddenly stopped, and Lea slowly cracked the driver's side door open, broken glass falling onto the snow as she did so. She mouthed a curse and whispered, "Sidney, we need to get out of here."   
Sidney jerked their head towards the woman, "No shit, Lea! But what about Rose? And who are they?"  
"Turns out it didn't take them too long to figure out what happened and find us."   
Sidney quickly turned to peek out their window and ducked down once a bullet shattered the mirror beside them. "Are we going to be able to get away? Can we fight against them?"  
"Not likely. We'd better just wait and see what they do next."   
Sidney leaned against the door, sighing as they relaxed. "And we're just going to let them do what they want? We have to-"  
"Shit, Sidney, move!"   
               The door was roughly pulled open, hurling Sidney onto the cold, icy snow beneath. They gazed up at a man from their vulnerable position, and he kneeled and rolled Sidney over, pocketing their gun as well as holding onto his own. Lea suddenly stood, aiming Nicholas' pistol at the stranger as she spoke, "Who are you?"   
The stranger waved a dismissive hand as his left foot held Sidney to the ground. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Put down the weapon, and we'll talk," the man aggressively ordered.  
"Why should I?" Lea dared; her twitching movements gave away her nervousness.   
The man spread out his arms, and a twisted smile spread across his face. "You might not be able to see, but we've got you surrounded." The smile disappeared as he brought his arms down. "We know what you did. Put it down."   
Lea opened her mouth to retaliate but, instead, simply laid her gun on the hood of the car. "There." She backed away. "Now what do you want?"   
The man stepped forward and took it. "Who's that beside you?"   
"We found him," she said, nudging the boy with her foot. "Come on, stand."  
The boy shakily stood, trying his best to avoid eye contact with the stranger.   
"Where'd you find him?"   
"Why does it matter?" Lea snapped.  
The man lifted his hands mockingly. "No need to get so defensive. That boy happens to be with us, is all."   
"With you?"  
"You heard me."  
"Why was he running?"  
"Who knows? This world isn't exactly for children, you know?"  
"Don't think I don't know what you do," Lea said, keeping her voice low and cautious.   
"And what do we do, according to you?"  
"You kill people for the sake of turning them into those monsters!"  
"We do? What if I told you we only do that because we're trying to find a cure? What if I told you we do that to figure out how these things behave and how they function? We  _know_  those things are monsters, but that's all the more reason to try to understand them. You see, that's what we do. We try to understand."   
"Then what the hell is with this whole 'Feed the Fire' bullshit?"   
"Pretty self-explanatory. Feeding the fire of curiosity."   
Lea remained silent.  
"Have I swayed you? We're simply trying to make people.." he paused to find the right word, ".. _realize_  that there's nothing to be afraid of. Fear is the reason nobody has done what we do; fear is the reason people refuse to understand them."   
"No, you're wrong. Fear is the reason people are still alive, and why we have enough sense to stay away. We  _do_  understand them; we understand that they're dead and that there's nothing left of who they used to be."   
"How are you so sure that there's nothing left?"  
"Do you really think a mother would  _choose_  to eat their child alive?"  
"Of course not, but what if they're still in there? What if some part of them is there, but the virus only controls their body and actions? That is what we are trying to understand. We kill to understand." After a moment of silence, he continued, "I know who you are. We need someone like you; someone who could increase our odds of understanding this."  
"How do you know who I am?"   
"Even though the media may be gone, books are still around. My wife was actually a big fan; she studied neuroscience." Sidney squirmed under the man's foot. "Oh, sorry." He lifted the weight, and Sidney immediately shot up. "I see you have wounded. Come back to the city, and I'll show you what we actually do. We'll take care of your friend, of course."   
Lea looked down, weighing her options carefully. "Fine. Take us there."   
The man smiled; not mockingly but genuinely. "Good choice, but I'll drive if you don't mind. I'm sure you understand why."   
Lea nodded, "Yeah." She looked at Sidney and then at the boy. "Do you guys mind sitting with Rose?"   
The boy remained silent, figuring he didn't have much of a choice, and Sidney shook their head, keeping their suspicious glare on the man, "No, it's fine."  
                   The stranger walked around to Lidia's side and vice versa, both entering the car. Sidney opened the door and grunted as they pushed Rose to the far side of the row of the three seats. They motioned for the boy to come over, which he did hesitantly, and they got in between the newcomer and Rose. As they rolled off towards the city they had just escaped, the man spoke, "I guess we should introduce ourselves. 'Course I already know you, Lea Aneko." He adjusted the mirror to look at the rest of the group, particularly Sidney, as they were in the middle. "I'm Andre."  
Sidney looked away from his gaze and stubbornly muttered, "Sidney Ross."  
"Yes, I've heard about you. Your father told us about you from time to time. Who's the woman?"  
"Rose Tristen."  
"The boy is William Mathias. He's probably too shy to introduce himself."  
Sidney took a glance at the boy before turning their own gaze to the window. "How old is he?"  
 "I'm thirteen," William finally spoke. "How old are you?"  
Sidney stayed in their position, momentarily glancing at Rose. "Fifteen."  
Andre smiled again. "You two should talk once we get back; might make a new friend."  
             William recoiled back into the corner of their seat, and Sidney simply sighed, partly in annoyance at Andre's eagerness and partly to hide the fact that they were actually eager to do so, too. They passed the horde of partially frozen walkers, which brought Andre to apologize about shattering their car windows, as he now realized that that could be potentially dangerous. Lea responded with a simple, "It's no big deal," which, obviously, was a lie, but Andre didn't seem to notice or, if he did, care.   
               As they slowly drove into the entrance of the city, Sidney's eyes were met with the sight of his father's corpse; they hadn't even bothered to clean it up. They quickly shifted their gaze to William, who seemed to notice the body, too. Before the boy could ask, Sidney shook their head at him, adding in a slight glare to get the message across. Sidney's uncharacteristic scowl deepened as they neared the familiar building; they had an incredibly off feeling about this, as they were sure Lea did as well. The car parked in an awkward position, practically on the sidewalk, and Andre was the first to get out.   
                Sidney opened the door on Rose's side and maneuvered their way around her. Andre put his hand on their shoulder and said, "Here, let me get her." As he reached in to scoop Rose up in his arms, Sidney felt the urge to slap his hands away but was distracted by Lea's voice, "You have doctors here?"  
"Two, but I'm sure they'll be able to handle her just fine."  
"Is that where you.. handle things?"  
"No, we have a special place for that. The doctors usually only take care of our own, but since you're  _guests_ , we can make exceptions."   
Sidney spoke up, "Can I come with you? I want to see where you're putting Rose."   
"Understandable. Lea, can you wait with William while we take care of this?"  
She held the door open for the others and looked around before answering, "Sure.."  
"Good; thank you." Andre walked to the staircase on the left, where Rose and Sidney had shot at Nicholas.   
"Wouldn't it be easier to keep it on the first floor?" Sidney asked.  
Andre hummed to imply he didn't understand.  
"I mean the infirmary. Wouldn't it be easier to keep on the first floor?"  
Andre smiled. "We like to keep it hidden so, in case of any emergency, nothing happens to the ones who can't defend themselves."  
"Why do you always say 'we' instead of 'I'?"  
"It's a habit. We're a community, see?"  
"Community? More like an army."  
"They can be the same, depending on how you look at it." He paused. "How old did you say you were?"  
"Fifteen, why?"  
"You act older, but you look younger." Andre smiled a bit.  
After about a minute of tense, and slightly awkward, silence, Sidney said, "Was that a compliment?"  
Andre suddenly stopped. "Here we are. Do you mind opening the door?"  
             Sidney did as they were told, and, as soon as the door was opened, a strong scent forced a small gag. The scent wasn't disgusting, actually quite clean-smelling, but was so overwhelmingly strong it actually took some effort to breathe at first. "Shit.." they whispered.   
              In the center of the large, barren room was a metal table, littered with patches of rust. Andre laid Rose down on the table, and, as soon as Sidney shut the door, a woman rushed in from an area only separated by a thick curtain. "Dr. Winters," Andre adressed. "I'm sure you remember Rose."  
"Yes, of course."  
"And I'm sure you know that they've escaped."  
She nodded quickly.  
"But they've had a change of heart, and Rose needs severe medical care."  
"Oh, uh, of course. Yeah, I'll get on it," she meekly said, rushing around in order to get an IV ready.   
"Where's Dr. Rowley?"  
"He's with another patient," Dr. Winters answered, slowing down her inspection of Rose as she said, "Someone was bitten.."  
A ghost of a smile appeared on Andre's face. "May we go see them?"  
"Oh, of course. Yeah, I'll make sure Rose is okay, and I'll let you know of anything alarming comes up."  
"Thank you, Winters." Andre's smile became more apparent, which only further unnerved Sidney. "I think the boy would like to spend some more time with Rose before they're seperated. Is that alright with you?"  
Winters looked up from Rose's wound and smiled. "Yeah, of course. I'm sure they've been through a lot together."  
Andre nodded and left the room, leaving only Sidney and Winters. "So, what's your real name?"  
"Pardon?"  
"I mean your first name."  
"Oh, it's Ren. Ren Winters." She held out her hand, which Sidney reluctantly shook. "I've heard about you, from what your father said. Sidney, right?"  
"Yeah. So, will Rose survive?"  
"I don't know yet, but her wound is infected all to hell. We'll try our best."  
"Thank you, Dr."  
Ren smiled and wiped her hands off with a towel. "You can just call me Ren, if you like."  
Sidney nodded, forcing a tight smile as they backed up towards the door. "Thank you, Ren."  
             Without another word, Sidney half-bolted out the door and almost slammed into Lea, who jumped out of the way in time. "Are you okay, Sidney?"  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Where are you going?"  
"I was just looking around. Is Rose okay?"  
"A doctor is taking care of her, so I think so. Is it okay to just be wandering around?"  
"It's not like they'll just kill me."  
Sidney lowered their voice into a whisper, "They might. Lea, I'm getting  _really_  bad vibes from this place."  
"Did something happen?"  
"Not yet, but something could happen. They're just.. too.." they paused. "They're  _way_  too friendly to strangers; more than you should be."  
"I guess you're right. I did notice the way he said 'guests' before we went inside. I'll keep an eye out."  
"Lea?" Andre asked, turning the corner. "Good, I have something to show- Ah, and Sidney, I have something to show you both."  
             With a nervous glance exchanged between the two, Lea and Sidney were lead down the long hallway to a large doorway, which was held together with a small chain and padlock. Andre unlocked it and opened the door on the right, "Be careful inside."  
               Two walkers were chained on either side of the room, a cell in the middle, and a single, small window to the left of the cell. Sidney suddenly stopped and stepped back; their heart suddenly lurching as a pit in their stomach threatened to force them to their knees. "Fuck! Lidia? What happened?"  
               They rushed forwards and grasped the bars as they kneeled down to her level. A deep bite tore through her clothes and skin but had already stopped bleeding. Lidia slowly raised her head; the fever had already set in, from the looks of it. "Oh.. Hey, Sidneh.." Her voice slurred as she winced in pain.    
"What happened? Where's Micheal?"  
"He's.." Lidia coughed and blood splattered on the ground; her breaths were labored and deep. "He's.. okay, I think.." She shook her head, trying to stay conscious.   
Lea stepped forward. "You know her?"  
Sidney ignored her question as they cursed, "Fuck! Did he get out of the city?"  
"M-maybe.. Where's.. Rose?"  
"She was shot, and they're taking care of her now. Damn! I'm so sorry, Lidia."  
Lidia chuckled slowly. "Sorry isn't.. gonna help anythin' now." Her voice quieted to a whisper, "Don't.. don't trust them.. with her.. or with anyone.." Sidney had to lean in to her her near-inaudible voice as she muttered, "You.. n-need to get out.. of here."  
               


	17. Known and Unknown

Lidia's head finally dropped down as she lost consciousness that she was just barely hanging on to. Sidney stayed in their kneeling position and stared at Lidia's body, only able to wonder if she was still alive; it couldn't be long now. Andre stepped forward and, taking a glance at Lidia, spoke, "You knew her?"  
Sidney swallowed audibly and slowly nodded.  
"And your other friend? Micheal? We can go find-"  
"No! You stay the hell away from him!" Sidney shot up and slapped Andre's hand off of their shoulder.   
"Sidney, I think you should calm down," Lea whispered, resting her hand on Sidney's arm, which they brushed off as well.   
Sidney backed away from the cell and held back the gag that tugged at the back of their throat. "You're sick! All of you! You're just going to sit back and  _let_  her turn?"   
"Sidney-"  
"Shut up! Do you know what that's like? To sit back and watch your friends turn into a monster?" Sidney gripped their firearm that Andre had given back. "I won't. I don't give a shit if it interferes with your 'understanding'!"   
"Sidney, wait-!"   
They aimed it at Lidia's body and pulled the trigger.   
"You little shit!" Andre shouted, lunging forward, grabbing their arm, and pulling them upwards to face him. "Do you know what you just did?"  
"I saved her," Sidney muttered, slinking back from his glare.  
"You killed her," Andre nearly growled.   
"She was already dead, asshole!"  
Lea grabbed Andre's hand and pried it off of Sidney's arm. "Calm down; both of you!"  
              Sidney held the gun tightly and glared at Andre; their temper begged them to kill him right then and there, but their sense told them otherwise. They shifted their glare to Lea, who stood between the man and the boy. "As soon as Rose wakes up, I'm leaving with or without you." Sidney turned and barreled out the heavy doors, stomping down the hallway until they made it down the flight of stairs. In the main room, a group of 'soldiers,' or whatever they were called, gathered around something; some were kneeling and doing something to the object, and some stood, waiting for the next action with it.   
              Sidney assumed that they were automatically welcomed because Andre had allowed them to stay in the building until Lea made a decision of what she wanted to do and Rose woke up, and strolled up to the group of six. Unsurprisingly nowadays, it was a corpse; Joseph's corpse. Sidney stared at it with a sort of deer-to-the-headlights look, ushering a man to turn and ask in an aggressive tone, "Who are you?"   
It took a few seconds for Sidney to process that they were being spoken to, but they finally snapped out of their trance. "Sidney."  
The man let out a laugh that Sidney knew meant, 'Are you serious?'. "Yeah, but  _why_ are you here?"  
Sidney took a step back from the group and shrugged. "Andre brought us here." Before the man could speak further, they asked, "What are you going to do with him?"  
He squinted in suspicion. "That's none of your business. Run on to wherever you came from."   
               The man turned back to the body, which all the others had been preoccupied with, and Sidney grumbled, deciding not to push any further. They weren't safe here; Sidney knew that. Andre was only keeping them because Lea happened to be a neurologist, and as soon as Lea found something worth noting, if she even agreed to at all, he wouldn't hesitate to get rid of or kill them, perhaps even both of them.   
               Sidney sulked back up the stairs and, judging by the loud conversation, found that Lea and Andre still hadn't left the room. They gingerly stepped further down the hallway and slowly pried open the door that led to the room Rose was being held in. The strong scent hit them anew, causing their face to involuntarily scrunch up in disgust. Inside, Rose was all alone; Ren was nowhere to be seen, along with the other doctor, who they had yet to meet. Sidney slipped inside and gently closed the door, emitting only a dull clacking noise.   
               Rose was still unconscious, but, thankfully, her skin didn't look as pale and her breathing sounded less pained. They stepped up to the steel, undoubtedly cold table and gazed down at her, suddenly overcome with a single memory; Natalie. Two years ago, when they had met, Rose was looking for Natalie and had since then given up, but a small swell of responsibility took form. If Rose wasn't going to survive this, they would be the ones to search for Natalie. They didn't know what she looked like, but Rose had told them of something Natalie was bound to keep with her; her red switchblade knife. Of course, anyone could have a knife like that, but, given the circumstances, it was a start.  
               Sidney snapped out of their thoughts and looked around the cold room. They slowly turned their head towards the curtain that separated a portion of the area. Under the curtain, they could see a small pool of some dark liquid.  
                 They grasped the edge of the curtain and yanked it open; a vial that was filled with a dark purple liquid was upturned, and the contents had spilled onto the floor. What caused Sidney to jump back was the rotting corpse strapped to a table similar to Rose's. Its eyes rolled back into its head, and its mouth hung open; the teeth were loose, and some had already fallen into the mush that was a mouth.  
                Bottles of bleach and other cleaning supplies were stacked up in another corner, and, guessing by the sheer amount, that was what caused the unbearably sharp scent. "The hell-  _Mmph!_ " Sidney's shouts were muffled by the gloved hand that wrapped around their mouth.  
"Sidney, be quiet!" Ren hoarsely whispered, dragging them back from the curtain.  
Sidney pulled away from her grip and scurried away on the floor. "What was  _that_ for?"  
"Just be quiet," Ren instructed, roughly pulling the curtain back in place. "Why are you in here?"  
Sidney pushed themselves up, using the table as a supporter. "I came in to check on Rose, but what the hell was that?"  
"None of your business. Don't you dare tell  _anyone_ about what you saw, understand?"  
"Why? And why is it in here with Rose?"  
"This is where we've always kept it. Rose just happens to be here."  
"What was that liquid stuff?" Sidney more or less demanded, pointing to the small puddle on the ground.  
"Wha- Oh, shit!" Ren cursed, diving behind the curtain and rushing around, supposedly to clean the mess. "Did you do that?"  
"What? No. It was like that when I found it. The spill is what caught my attention."  
"Damn! He's gonna be mad," Winters mumbled, carefully shuffling around.   
"Why's it so important anyway? And who?"   
"Dr. Rowley, and-" Ren sighed, peeking out from behind the curtain. " _Please_ , don't tell anyone about this."   
"Okay.." They muttered, stepping around the table.   
"Now, get out before you're caught in here. I don't want you to get in any more trouble than you already are."   
"Huh? What did I do?"   
"Fuck," she whispered," I guess I should warn you." Dr. Winters exited the covered area and stood in front of Sidney, her arms dropping to her sides, obviously tired. "You need to leave."  
"Yeah, I was just-"  
"No, I mean the city. You need to get far away from here; at least, far away from Andre."   
"I know. I was planning on leaving as soon as Rose was better," Sidney said, folding their arms.   
"You need to leave as soon as possible." She looked at him intently. "He won't keep you alive. If you're lucky, he'll just abandon you somewhere."  
"Figured. So, he's planning on killing me?"  
"Not just you; Rose and William, too."  
"And Lea?"  
"I'm not so sure about her. Andre just might keep her alive, if she proves to be useful, but I think she should leave, too." Ren took a step back. "I've said too much. Make do with what I've told you."  
"But, about Rose, will she be okay?" They asked, gesturing towards her body.   
"I don't know when she'll wake up, but, if she does, I think she'll be fine."  
"Okay, I'll- I'll go warn Lea," Sidney said as if it were a question, backing up from the table.   
"Yes, and be careful! Make sure he doesn't hear you."  
"I'll try." Sidney reached the door, pulling it ajar.   
"And, if you do decide to escape," Ren started, "come back for me."  
They nodded. "I will."   
                Sidney exited the room, but, as soon as they did, the idea of this being a trap presented itself in their mind; however, in the short time they had known each other, Sidney had begun to trust Dr. Winters. She seemed genuine in her warning and request, and they nevertheless sped down the hallway. A few soldiers standing in the corridor questionably turned their heads to the running boy, but most chose not to interfere;  _most._  
"Whoa, whoa, hey, slow down," a young man cautioned, stepping out from, in Sidney's point of view, nowhere. "What are you doing?"  
Sidney slowed down, scrunching their nose in distaste as they looked up. They roughly pushed the man's shoulder, demanding, "Out of my way! I have to go somewhere!"  
"And how old are you? Are you even allowed in here?" He asked, grabbing Sidney's wrist to refrain them from pushing any further.   
"I'm looking for the neurologist."   
"Who?"  
Sidney grunted and pulled their arm away. "Just move!"  
"Do you mean Dr. Rowley or Winters? They're not neurologists; we don't have one," the man said matter-of-factly.   
They groaned, getting more restless by the second. "Get the fuck out of my way!"   
The young man reached for Sidney's other arm and said, "I think you should leave before something happens to you."  
Before he could grasp their free arm, Sidney pulled out their gun and pressed it against his forehead, which was close due to the man leaning forward. "I said  _move."  
"_Why should I be afraid of you? Kids your age aren't brave enough to kill me."  
"Don't underestimate me. I'm not as young and weak as I look."  
The man slowly leaned back to his original position. "Sure you aren't. Now get out."  
Sidney's hands shook lightly as their grip tightened, and, suddenly, two hands rested themselves on their shoulder. "Put your gun down, Sidney," Ren calmly said. "There's no need to get violent." She then leaned in and whispered, "I'll take care of this. He's with me and knows about Andre." Dr. Winters looked up and said, "Hailey, this is Sidney; they're part of the group Andre brought in."   
Hailey straightened himself up. "Are they-?"  
"Yeah. They were just going to do that."   
"Oh, well." He laughed nervously. "Sorry, Sidney. I know where she is; I could take you to her, eh?" Hailey offered, now flashing a smile that better suited his face than did the previous scowl.   
Sidney loosened up and sighed. "That would be better than me wandering alone, I guess."   
Dr. Winters smiled, sliding her hands off of their shoulders. "Oh, yeah, before you go, I'm making progress with Rose. Her wound looks a lot better, but she's definitely not going to be completely recovered for a while."  
"Thanks, Ren," Sidney simply said, not really knowing how to express their gratitude.   
"Yeah, not a problem. Good luck with Lea."  
Hailey tapped their shoulder. "You ready?"  
                Ren turned and trotted off after waving, and Sidney slowly nodded. Hailey started down the hallway, opposite of the path where the cell Lidia had been in was. "They're in Andre's office," he spoke, easing Sidney's unspoken worries. "Since they'll probably be together, I'll think of something to draw him away."   
The younger jogged up to Hailey's side. "So, you're with Ren? You're trying to escape?"   
"Yeah." He smiled in thought before continuing, "We've been planning this since she figured it out."   
"'It'? What did she figure out?"   
"You saw it, right?" His smile faded, now replaced by a curious expression.  
"Saw what? Damn, just tell me!" Sidney urged, spreading out their arms.   
Hailey chuckled at their enthusiasm. "The liquid. You saw it, right?"   
"Yeah, but what about it?" Their urgency faded as slight disappointment took over.  
"That's what Dr. Winters figured out. It's a cure." He flashed the smile again, but he continued before Sidney could explode with questions, "She still refuses to tell me how, but I guess that's understandable, eh?"  
"You're a really good actor," Sidney simply stated.   
He turned his head to face them. "What?"  
"I mean you were so different and threatening when you first saw me."  
"Thanks, Sidney. Oh, and sorry about that."  
Ignoring his unnecessary apology, the realization suddenly hit Sidney. "Damn, a cure? When did she find out? And why didn't she tell anyone? Why didn't she use it?"   
"She found out quite a while ago, maybe two months, and I'm not-"  
"Two months? Why did she wait that long?"  
"I'm not really sure. Nicholas didn't want a cure, because, y'know, this. I don't think Andre wants one, either."  
"Then what the hell does he want Lea for?"  
"Andre thinks that walkers still have part of their past-selves in them. Maybe he wants Lea to figure that out because he thinks Dr. Rowley and Winters can't. If it turns out they don't, that's why we're trying to escape with Lea. He's not going to keep either of you alive."   
"That's what Ren said. _Damn!_  Where're we going to take the cure once we get out?"  
Hailey slowed down as he turned a corner. "We'd better stop. We're almost there, and who knows who might hear us. I'm sure Dr. Winters will explain it to you."   
Sidney let out a shaky sigh, trying to clear their overwhelmed state. "Yeah, okay."   
                  Hailey continued on until he stopped at a door and knocked. A few seconds of silence passed before someone answered, "Come in." Before Hailey opened the door, he motioned for Sidney to stay put and walked in alone. Outside, Sidney heard Hailey's suddenly frantic voice half-shout to Andre, "We've found survivors in the city, sir, and one of them is bitten!"   
Another muffled voice ensued, "Really? I'm sorry, Lea, we'll have to continue afterward. Take me to them, Faust."   
                  Footsteps followed, and Sidney jumped out of the way just as the door suddenly swung open; Andre and Hailey both rushed down the nearby staircase. Without taking a moment to evaluate the potential consequences of Hailey's lie, Sidney ran into the room and grabbed Lea's wrist, looking at her intently. "Lea, we need to leave; like, now."   
"What? Why?"  
"Dr. Winters explained it all to me. Andre is planning on killing you, me, and William. We need to find him, and then escape as soon as possible."  
"But what about Rose?"   
"I don't know, but we need to leave before Andre realizes."   
                They pulled Lea out of the room before she could ask any further questions and bolted down the hallway. Panting and shaking with the excitement of leaving, they burst into the lab with Lea still being dragged behind. "Ren? I've got Lea."  
Ren suddenly jumped up in surprise from packing away a box into a backpack, along with other medical things. "Good. I'm sure you could tell, but-"  
"You're awake?" Sidney exclaimed, letting go of Lea's hand as they lurched forward to Rose.   
"I.. guess. Where is this?" Rose asked, clearly still half-asleep and dazed.   
"We're back with the Phoenix, but we're escaping. Are you able to walk?"   
"Well, Sidney, we should definitely take it slow with her. She's still recovering," Ren stated, standing up as she slung the bag over her shoulder.   
"Why are we back here? I thought we  _had_  escaped."  
"We did, but then you fainted. We made a deal that if Lea helped Andre you would get treated," Sidney said, helping Rose slide off of the table and stand.   
"We're leaving now?"  
"Yeah. We need to hurry before Andre comes back."   
Lea stepped forward. "We probably don't have time for introductions, but I'm Lea."   
Rose nodded. "I already know Ren, and I guess you know I'm Rose."   
Lea smiled, helping Rose walk with Sidney as she had when Rose was still unconscious.   
"You forgot this," a voice meekly said; the speaker handed a syringe and needle to Ren.  
She quickly slipped the backpack off and stuffed it in. "Thank you, William."   
                  Ren stood and jogged over to the door, holding it open for the others before locking it for safe measure. "Dr. Rowley should meet us out there, if he made it out."   
Sidney added, "Some of the soldiers should be distracted by Hailey. He told Andre that they had found bitten."   
"Good. Come on," Dr. Winters urged, trotting up ahead.   
                  Sidney and Lea both pushed as fast as they could with Rose, who was very slowly gaining strength. Lea held on to Nicholas' pistol, apparently not bothering to hide it. The hallway was something, but the stairs was a different challenge, especially with weak, still only slightly able to walk wounded. Struggling for a long five minutes, Lea, Sidney, and Rose finally made it down the stairs to William and Ren, who were waiting. Of course, three soldiers blocked their path to the exit; more alert than usual, predictably due to Hailey's lie. Ren whispered, "Let me go on ahead. They won't be alarmed by just me."   
                   She walked forward, straight to the soldiers as she asked, "Can any of you be spared for a moment? I need help with a walker I have to run tests on." One of the soldiers looked back at the other two and nodded, following Dr. Winters who led them away from the group. Lea let go of Rose and peeked around the corner. "All of you, stay here. I'll take care of these two." They remained silent as Lea strolled over, breathing a sigh before pulling the trigger. Barely seconds later, another shot followed, causing young William to jump in both surprise and fear.   
"Alright, hurry!" Lea ordered.  
                   Sidney urged Rose toward the exit, which Lea held open, resuming her place with Rose as soon as William made it through. Outside, where the bullet-stricken car was parked, a man, who they guessed was Dr. Rowley, and Hailey awaited them, already inside the vehicle. They all filed inside, but Sidney strayed outside for a few minutes, nervously waiting for Ren. "Sidney, get in before you're spotted!" Lea ordered in a hushed shout over the hum of the car engine. "She'll come around!"  
                   They sighed and scuffled over to the car, hurriedly crawling into the car next to William and Rose, who was crammed in on the left. Dr. Rowley backed the car out of the 'parking space' but slammed on the breaks when Dr. Winters burst through the building's front door; Rose flung forward but was stopped from slamming into Rowley's seat by Sidney's outstretched arm. However, followed by Ren, ran the soldier that she had led away. "Fuck, Rowley, go!" Lea shouted. Sidney opened the door for Ren, who dove inside, and slammed it shut.   
                   Dr. Rowley haphazardly turned and drove off, almost slipping on the ice, just as bullets hit the back of the vehicle. The car kicked up the snow behind it, masking the red flash of the single working light.


	18. Stray Sheep

_It didn't start out as anything alarming._  
           
        They didn't know how it happened, or if they even knew they were there. Perhaps it was just a coincidence. Perhaps they were doing what they normally do; whatever that is, but some knew that they had managed to track them down. It didn't start out as anything alarming; just a small crackling which many of them thought were twigs and a small whiff of smoke, but soon everything surrounding them was engulfed in a ravaging fire. As they ran, they were sure they saw someone fall and others surrounding them, but, as they looked back again, they were alone; alone in a forest charred by an angry fire that drowned out their shouts and cries for the others.   
        Their vision was hazy, and they shook with the urge to escape but froze with the paralyzation of indecision. The fire snapped and cracked, more than once sending sparks flying their way and painfully hitting their mark, branding them with their searing heat. Large, flaming branches that could kill them if they stepped under broke from their foundations and smashed on the ashy ground. They found a way around it and ran. The backpack that they wore hardly slowed them down, even urging them to go faster when they realized the importance of the object inside.   
         They choked out a series of coughs, barely able to breathe completely in. Then they heard it. "Sidney!" A voice, barely audible over the fire's snarling, shouted out. Sidney coughed again and, voice hoarse, yelled back, "Hailey?" The other didn't respond; they weren't heard. "Hailey!" They yelled, louder this time, hands outstretched as they tried to avoid hot obstacles. Again, silence. They knew they shouldn't waste their time crying out for the others, so Sidney stopped bleating like a lost lamb and turned back to their track.   
         Sidney ran in one direction and one direction only: forward; even when the flames the Phoenix had alighted blocked their path, they found a way around. Then they saw it. A creek streamed along, inevitably destined to be dried up by the fire that surrounded it. Sidney remembered something; something that might save their life. The creek had to have an emptying point; the point where it emptied out into a larger body of water.   
          They followed the stream's path, water seeping into their already torn shoes. Sidney skidded to a stop; in front of them was a small waterfall, the types you see recreated as fountains. They knelt down and hung themselves over the edge with their hands. The water slickened their grip, and they fell down onto the small, jagged rocks below. Sidney gasped and choked, both from the smoke and the fall. They quickly forced themselves to sit up, the stinging, stabbing pain of the rocks now registering in their mind. Blood dripped from their cuts and gashes, mixing with the water and flowing with the rush of the creek.   
"Damn it!" Sidney managed to croak out, coughing at the sudden rush of smoke entering their lungs.  
          They shakily stood, pushing themselves up with their hands and knees. Underneath the waterfall was a log, covered with mold and broken in half, untouched by the fire and blessed by the water. Then they ran for it. They plunged through the gentle fall of water and squeezed themselves in between the log and cold stone of the small cliff.   
          There they waited for what seemed like hours, listening to the cracking of the splintering, flaming wood just up ahead of their hiding spot. A large tree, maybe hundreds of years old, groaned as its trunk gave way to the knawing heat and fell forward, sliding down the waterfall; its burnt crown and broken branches landed in the small creek in front of Sidney, but its trunk and unearthed roots were held up by the top of the fall. The water stream coming down was reduced to a few drops every second, but the cool temperature was kept down by the large puddle and wet stone surrounding the logs.   
  
 _"Fuck."_  
  
            Sidney suddenly jolted out of sleep, shots still ringing through the silent forest. They finally relaxed and slumped against the stone wall behind them. How long had it been? Days? The fire that ruined the forest finally died down after spouts of snow and rain, but, as Sidney completely registered their situation, a strong feeling of dread came over them. They were alone with the cure and without any weapons, and God-knows-who survived. Maybe the Phoenix were still in the forest. Maybe they had managed to follow Sidney and were now waiting for them to move from their hiding place. Maybe they had killed the others and were just dying to show them their turned corpses.  
          A gentle, subtle fall of rain padded against the rock, and, realizing they were sitting in a large puddle, Sidney slowly stood; the throbbing pain the rocks had etched into them hadn't subsided even slightly. They groaned and pushed the large logs out of their way, limping away from the crevice and into the rain. The drops of water stung their multitude of burns, which Sidney quickly covered back up with the sleeves of their jacket. They dared to look up at what surrounded them. The trees were black and charred, and the green grass was dead and grey with ash. The once lively forest now looked like a cemetery.   
          Sidney trudged along the creek's bank, and perhaps from afar they could've been mistaken as a walker; their clothes were bloody, burned, and torn; they limped as they walked; their skin was discolored from malnutrition and dehydration, and they seemed nearly lifeless as they stumbled on.   
           A snap of burnt twigs to the right alerted Sidney, and they stopped, slowly turned their head in fear of what they might see, and froze. They let out a shaky breath of disbelief; a frown twitched at the edges of their mouth, and they were only able to choke on their words. Sidney took a step back. The walker tripped over the branch and fell forward, roughly landing on the sharp rocks just as Sidney had done. They took another step away. They didn't have a weapon, and, even if they did, even if they thought themselves strong enough to, they couldn't kill her. Lidia was different. Lidia wasn't like a mother to them; they weren't attached to her.   
          Sidney looked down at Rose's corpse and took another step. They just stared, unmoving and dry-eyed, so quiet that they could almost hear their own rapid heartbeat. Another shot stirred the silent forest, and the sense of loneliness slowly died down the longer they gazed down at Rose. The gunshot had come from the left, and Sidney had turned their body to follow the noise but stopped. They looked down at her, opened their mouth to say something, but closed it; she won't hear. And they walked away.


	19. Innocence and Guilt

Ren nudged her glasses back up on the bridge of her nose as she limped forward, eyes darting in every direction for something or, at least, someone. She cursed to herself. She had left the cure with Sidney, and God only knows if they were still alive. Her dark skin was etched with scars the flames had left and still burned even now. Her stomach growled, and her tongue was swollen from dehydration. For all she knew, she was the only survivor, and, if Sidney had died, their last hope had died with them.   
        Winters had watched with her very eyes the Phoenix kill Rose, William, and Dr. Rowley; Hailey had run off in search of Sidney and left her alone. Lea had been up ahead, scouting out the path and was out of sight even before the fire started. Now that Rowley was dead, she and Lea were the only ones left that could secure the cure, supposing no one else had found one yet and supposing Sidney didn't lose the bag.   
        Her next immediate thought was how lucky she was to have survived, which, to her surprise, only made her feel guilty. Guilty that she was glad to be alive. Guilty that she had lived. Ren knew that she shouldn't feel guilty; that it was better for her to be alive, because if she had died along with Rowley, Lea might not be able to produce more of the vaccine. It was better this way. It was them or her.  
        The guilt quickly subsided as soon as she adopted this mindset, and she began to drift off into thoughts of saving the world- of the cure. It cycled back to Sidney. Maybe she shouldn't have trusted them with it; maybe she should've kept it herself, and maybe she would've been able to do it alone. Ren was sure that she would be able to do it alone. All she had to do was find Sidney with the bag, even if it was their corpse, and leave. She didn't need the others. She could make it to New York alone and save everyone. Alone.   
        "Stop," she said aloud, surprised that she had. Ren caught herself. No, she does need them. If she can't have Rowley there to help her along, then surely she would have Lea; surely Lea was alive. Loneliness was already starting to take its toll; she knew the effects that it would have on her sanity, being a doctor who knew about the mind, even if only a little. Winters noticed she was mumbling her thoughts and stopped herself; it was something she did when she was deep in concentration.   
        Ren hardly noticed the figure walking ahead of her, shielded by a jumble of broken branches covered in ash. Her mind suddenly snapped to attention when she heard it push away the frail sticks and slowly meander toward her. It was still far away, and she could only see the vague shape of her pursuer. She didn't have a weapon; the only weapons the group had managed to keep was Sidney's gun, which Lea had taken, and Rose's bow, which Hailey had taken out hunting and hopefully still had with him.   
        Winters took a small step backwards. It was running toward her, slowly and messily, nearly tripping over a tree root as it advanced. She simply froze. It coughed violently and tried to choke something out. Ren's expression twisted into one of both confusion and disgust as she watched- and let- the dirty, bloody body collapse into her in a motion that wasn't exactly intended as a hug. Words rushed out of Sidney's mouth, their voice scratchy and hushed. The only thing that Ren could blurt out was, "What happened?" Through the sobbing and rambling, Winters could only make out 'Help,' and 'She's dead,' as the only eligible responses Sidney could give.        
"Rose? God, Sidney, I'm sorry, but-" Ren paused and pulled Sidney closer. "Did you see Lea? Or Hailey? William and Rowley are dead, too. I watched it happen."     
"D-Did you s-see him?" Sidney stuttered, slowly pulling away from Winters and wiping their face on their sleeve.  
"See who?" She asked, one hand on her wounded leg and the other pushing up her glasses.   
"A-Andre," they whispered, still stuttering from the aftershock of sobbing.   
"No, I didn't," Ren responded, retying the strip of cloth she had torn from her coat above her wound. "But we need to find Lea and Hailey. They might still be alive."   
"You m-mean, you l-lost track o-of them?"   
Dr. Winters sighed. "Yeah. Hailey ran after you, and Lea was already up ahead and gone by the time they set the forest on fire." She took off her roundish glasses and cleaned them with a small part of her coat that wasn't burned or dirty. "Why'd you run off, anyway?"   
Sidney hugged themselves as they suddenly became aware of their painful hunger pangs. "I don't k-know. The first thing I thought when I saw them was 'run,' and now I wish that I hadn't."   
        Sliding her glasses back on, she tried to smile but instead made a weak, wavering grin. She tried to think of something to say or something to comfort the other, but nothing writhed its way from the back of her mind and through the clouds of fear and stress. Giving up on something comforting, Ren stated, "We should go and find food and water before one of us faints. You probably didn't, but did you find  _anything_?"   
"There was a river where I hid, but it's almost completely dried out now."  
"Can you lead me there? We can surely find something, and, even if the remaining water is dirty, I think it's better than dying of dehydration."   
"Y-Yeah, but that's where-" Sidney hesitated. "That's where I found Rose."  
"We-"  
"But it's fine," they quickly added, eyes darting up to meet Winters' wide ones. "We can go."   
"Are you sure? Maybe-"  
"Yes, I'm sure," Sidney insisted, already starting to wander ahead. "I said it's fine."   
Ren sighed again and followed after them. "Alright."  
        The stream was barely half of what is was before the fire, and Rose's corpse was just off to the side. The blood that seeped out of the wound on its head pooled over the rocks and wet its matted and dirty blonde hair. "Shit," Sidney muttered. "She wasn't dead when I left."   
"You left it.. alive?" Ren gawked at Sidney.  
They shrugged and cast their gaze down and away from the corpse. "I didn't want to do it."  
"It's fine, Sidney. At least, it's taken care of now."  
"That's not the problem," Sidney roughly spat. "She wasn't dead when I left, so maybe it was Hailey or Lea?"  
"Maybe. They both have our weapons."  
        Dr. Winters knelt by the narrow current and gently waved Sidney over. She cupped her hands and dipped them in the uncleansed water. Sidney didn't bother with their hands and almost stuck their entire face into as much water as they could, the coolness easing the ache of their scars. Ren's breath hitched as she quickly pulled her hands away from the tainted water. "Sidney, don't!" She shouted, pulling them away by their arm.   
"What is it?" Sidney choked out, still trying to swallow some of the water.   
"Look." Winters pointed at the water.  
        They coughed out the remaining water and held back the vomit that stung the base of their throat from the sheer force that they coughed. Ren put a hand on their shoulder to steady them. A thin, wispy trail of blood flowed with the clear of the stream, but, as they waited, it became as though the small current was completely blood. Their eyes were focused on the top of the short waterfall. They could just barely see over the top.   
Sidney leaned in and whispered, "Are we gonna check it out?"  
She nodded.  
        Sidney, for good measure, grabbed the biggest rock they could find on the bank next to the brook, which was about the size of their hand. The old, burnt tree, barely hanging on to its lower half in the middle as a result of being climbed too many times, was their only way to the top of the falls. There was the option of climbing the side of the 'valley,' but if you tripped, you would fall on the sharp rocks below. They could follow the stream further down until they were able to circle around, Ren thought, and they would have more of an opportunity of running into Hailey or Lea. "Hey, Sidney," She started. "I think we should follow the river a bit more."   
"What for? The tree's got a little bit left in it."   
She waved a dismissive hand. "Trust me. I know what I'm doing."   
With more than a bit of unwillingness and an understanding that climbing the tree would be the best path, Sidney slowly walked to her side. "Fine. I guess you're the adult here."   
        And so they walked, leaving Rose behind. When they thought about it, Sidney felt a surge of guilt for just leaving her there. She had saved their life and had almost been able to replace Kegan in a sisterly way, if not Maria in a motherly way.  _Maria._  The pressure in their chest pushed deeper at the thought of the name. Ren's groan brought Sidney to attention.    
        Another tree, thinner than the one that aided Sidney in hiding from the flames but still thick, had fallen over the path, elevated by the dirt wall of the valley, which had considerably dropped in height by now. It was low enough that they could climb over it with the help of one another and barely elevated enough that they could slip under. "Wait, wait, wait- What is that?" Sidney asked, pointing forwards toward the tree.  
"Really? For God's sake, Sidney-"  
"No, no, Ren, look. Above. Do you see that? The smoke?" Sidney was whispering by now.   
        Yes, she thought she saw something. A narrow line of smoke streamed its way upwards in small bursts. And were those..people? People gathered around; by the looks of it, only three or four. Soon, the smoke turned into a small, controlled fire.   
"A group, maybe?" Ren speculated.  
"Maybe they have food," they eagerly suggested, trotting a bit forward.  
"Hey, wait!" Ren grabbed their arm and pulled them back. "Maybe they aren't friendly. What group would just wander into a burned-down forest? What if they're with the Phoenix?"  
Sidney took a few quick steps back, breaking away from Ren. "Too late now. They saw us."   
        It was true. Two of the four had slid under the tree; one was aiming their firearm at the strangers, and another was shouting at them, "Hey, you! Get the hell over here!" Another had risen from their seat and had joined the others, this time hopping on and off the tree. However, the fourth figure remained on the ground, head lowered and on their knees. The three men were fast approaching. Sidney wanted to run but was held in place by their desire to stay next to Ren, who was frozen, staring at the figure in the distance.   
 Was that-?   
"Ren, run!"   
  
And that's when everything cut out to black.


	20. Life's Timer

A grey haze enveloped the world around her. A surreally peaceful calm washed over her senses until she saw the reality of the situation. She wasn't where she expected to be. She wasn't in a cell where she was sure they would take her when they spotted her. She tried to move but only twitched slightly. She tried to speak but only a whimper came out. A whisper pulled her further out of her trance-like state, and brighter colours mixed in with the grey. "Ren," another whisper broke through. "Ren, wake up."   
        The speaker nudged Ren's shoulder, and she suddenly became aware of the searing, throbbing pain and the warm, numb feeling on the side of her head. "Sidney..?" She managed to stammer out.   
"No, it's me, Hailey," he answered, gently shaking her a bit more. "They're taking care of Sidney."   
Ren suddenly jolted up, lightheadedness immediately sweeping her mind. "What-" She groaned and laid a hand on her head. "What happened?"   
"Well, they're not with the Phoenix. I don't really know about them. They just- Hell, I don't know."   
"Where's Sidney?" Her vision had come back to her by now- but not completely.   
"They're taking care of them," Hailey repeated. "When Sidney resisted, they shot their leg. Obviously, they didn't want to kill someone as young as them, so they're fixing Sidney up. I can't really tell what they're going to do."   
"Do you know where Lea is?"  
"No. I'm guessing that means you haven't found her, eh?"After a pause, Hailey added, "I did find someone, though."  
"Who? It couldn't have been-"  
"It was Rose. I found Rose."  
"Yeah," she sighed. "We did, too."  
"Were you the ones that killed her?- you know, ended it."   
Ren didn't even bother to act surprised. "No, we thought you did."  
"Do you think it was Lea, then?"  
"I don't know. I think we should just focus on the task at hand for now. We'll find her later."  
        Ren looked around the room she was in. Mold crawled up the wallpaper and spread across the tile flooring; bugs scrambled around an old table's legs that looked as if they would break under the smallest pressure. A light breeze of wind flowed through a broken window; the shards of the window pane were scattered in the sink beneath it, reflecting the sun's glow. A horse nervously snorted from somewhere nearby outside, and she heard its hoofbeats as it paced whatever it was in. It was only when she had heard the horse that she realized how quiet it was in the house. It was as if she and Hailey were the only ones there; no footsteps, no voices.   
"Where are they?" She finally asked. She was not bound, but she dared not move.   
"I thought they were in here with us. Why-?"  
        A sudden, loud 'thump' and a frightened shriek abruptly cut Hailey off. Something tumbled down a short flight of stairs and slammed their back on the floor with a sickening crack. It was quiet again after that; even the horse had fallen silent. Then, after a few minutes of eerie silence, she heard something being dragged slowly, very slowly, and, right before the drag, was a scraping that made her cringe; a sound not unlike a fork on a plate. The sounds grew closer, only a few seconds in between each scrape and drag, and three things happened all at once: the front door, which both of them had their backs to, swung violently open; a walker, its legs only barely hanging onto its torso, appeared from around the corner, which was the exit to the room that they were in, and the person who entered the room rushed forward and killed the walker with a screwdriver.   
        A baby wailed from some part in the house, and the woman, without addressing either one of them, took off after the child. A muffled argument resonated through the house from above, but she had managed to quiet the baby down. The horse had begun pacing again. The only things Ren had on her mind was finding Sidney and getting out; she had no intention of making new acquaintances. The three of them would leave for New York when she decided it was time, whether or not they had found Lea by then. "Hailey," she spoke quietly to avoid the strangers from hearing. "Let's leave. The door isn't locked, and we can just steal-"  
"No. What about Sidney?"   
Ren sighed. "Fine. We'll get some weapon- anything- and try to find them. If they cause trouble, we'll.."  
"What? Kill them?"   
She cast a serious glare. "If I need to, I will. If you have something against it, then stay out of my damn way."   
"Christ, Ren."  
        She stood and looked around for something to use as a weapon. The shards of glass were far too small to use, and, even if they weren't, she'd rather not cut her hand and risk an infection. She haphazardly threw open a drawer under the sink; empty, dirty bottles were the only things that sat below. "If you're looking for a weapon, I don't think they bothered to clear out the silverware drawer; they were in a rush. I'm not going with you. We could just wait."  
"I'm not fucking waiting, Hailey!" Ren roughly pulled open the said drawer and pulled out a small knife. "The longer we wait to get to New York, the more people die. I'm tired of waiting."  
        Ren left the kitchen and immediately thought of how loud her outburst was. She wasn't sorry. The room she was in now was small and straight; at the other side, there was a set of doors that led into another, slightly bigger end room. She tip-toed toward the room and peeked in through the panes in the wooden door. A bed was set up on the far left side; the sheets were messy, and the bed was slightly depressed in the middle. Nobody was there. She turned away and walked into a small hallway. To the right was a bedroom; the door was wide open, and she looked in.        
        Sidney laid on the bed; thick blankets were neatly placed upon them, and their head was turned away from Ren. They were fast asleep. A small, square table sat on the right side of the bed, and she reached over and picked up her glasses that rest on it. The left lens was horribly cracked, and the metal was bent so that it sat crooked on her nose. She donned the glasses nevertheless. Ren left Sidney alone, for now, exited the room, and slowly closed the door behind her. The next room, which she carelessly entered, was a bathroom. Ren froze and jumped as she heard the horse neigh loudly and a crack of thunder. The baby began bawling.   
        She sighed as she had done many times. Ren had seen what she had needed to see, and, from what it looked like, the strangers were staying upstairs.  _'Idiots,'_  She scowled. They should be watching their captives closely. Ren entered Sidney's room, where she found them awake and sobbing quietly. "Sidney?" She whispered. "Are you alright?"   
The teen visibly tensed and stayed silent.  
"It's fine. It's me; Ren."   
Sidney slowly, and painfully, turned themselves over to face her, wiping tears from their red eyes. "What are we going to do?"   
Ren heard the door open and shut and guessed that it was Hailey leaving. "We're getting out of here. There's no time; I'll help you walk."   
Footsteps came from above until they reached the bottom floor. "Henry? Is that you?" A light voice broke through the rain.   
Ren placed a finger on her lips and cautiously left, holding the knife out of sight behind her back.  
The young woman spotted her. "Oh, well, um- I'm glad you're-" Her smile twisted into a pained scowl, and her voice caught in her throat as Ren plunged the knife into her side.  
"I'm so sorry." Ren twisted the blade and, after a few long seconds, slid it back out. "I'm sorry."  
        Blood pooled around the woman's body as her body finally gave out. Ren rushed into Sidney's room and hurriedly helped them stand; Sidney leaned against her for support as they walked quickly away. Sidney ignored the body that they knew was Ren's doing and only looked ahead. Hailey had gone outside and had begun to ready the nervous gelding. Ren and Sidney made their way outside. She heard another person run down the stairs and be met with the woman's body. She didn't bother to stay to hear the sobs as she realized what she had done. They were just simple survivors like all the rest of them.   
        Hailey helped Sidney up on the paint gelding who had calmed down. Hailey opted to walk, as Ren and Sidney were quite heavy enough for the animal. They had stolen and killed, but such is the cost of survival. They were the same- no, she corrected herself, they were not the same. This group was different. They needed to survive.  
  
They could save the world.


	21. From Kings to Thieves

Jenna's breath caught in her throat as she tripped over a rotting log and went sprawling to the ground. She quickly picked herself back up and ran onward, the cold air setting fire to her lungs as it rushed in. She stopped and looked wildly around; the grip on her pistol shook. It was quiet and still, save a few birds that flew by and the harsh wind rustling bushes and trees. She tried to calm herself down but was only panicked further at the thought of being completely alone and unaware of the state of her friends.   
        They didn't know it would happen. Jenna knew that wolves were native to the northern parts of Michigan, but she didn't know that they were still alive. Elizabeth had gone hunting and had successfully brought back a doe and her fawn, and, of course, they weren't the only ones that were starving. She didn't catch how many there were, maybe six, seven? Lucas and Elizabeth had ushered everyone out and away from the camp before she had gotten a count; perhaps there were more that didn't join in the initial raid. Only she, Allie, and Natalie made it completely away from the camp; Lucas, Elizabeth, and Mark- she didn't want to think about it. She wasn't sure if they were dead, but, from the looks of it, the chances of escape for them was slim.   
        Howls echoed through the forest, and it sounded as if they were surrounding her. Jenna took a shaky step back. She couldn't call out for the others; the wolves might hear, and surely they would be looking for something else to devour.  _'No, Jenna! You need to be brave for them- for yourself!'_  she scolded. Jenna frowned at her cowardice and thought of how disappointed her sister would've been at her running away. At the same time, she knew that it was good she had fled; Jenna wanted to protect the group, whatever the cost. It was the least she could do to repay them.   
          She ran and jumped and stumbled over obstacles in her way, and, when she thought she finally reached the edge of the forest, she found more. These trees were different. You could doutbful even call this a forest, but a forest it once was. The trees were black and burned; the ground was covered in snow-like ash.  
          Jenna stepped forward into the color-barren wasteland. The sounds of the wolves had died out long ago, and it was silent- eerily silent. She went in further. She was alone, without Allie or Elizabeth, but still she walked, until she heard something; voices echoed between the thin trees; shouts arose from below the broken crowns, but it couldn't have been more than five people.  
           And suddenly she was veering to the left and slamming herself against a treetrunk to avoid being trampled by the horse that thundered by, swinging its hind legs up to kick the air in whatever frenzy it was in. "Duke!" A light voice shouted out. "Shit. Duke!"  
             The boy yelling after the horse was far too late in their pursuit. The horse had already galloped out of sight to the short freedom it had left until it would inevitably be devoured by the dead. The boy was scarred on their face and hands; she was sure that they were on their arms as well, if only they weren't covered up by the sleeves of the sweatshirt they were wearing.  
               Jenna didn't even have time to breathe out a, 'Hello,' before a gun was shoved in her face and the shorter was demanding things like, "Who are you?" and "Where did you come from?" of her.  
"My n-name is Jenna," she managed to squeeze in. "And I'm lost."  
"Whoa, whoa, Sidney! What are you doing to that girl?" A female voice broke in. "I swear to God- Put the damn gun down before you hurt someone!"  
              The boy, supposedly Sidney, put their gun back in its holster, and Jenna decided to show them that she wasn't to be toyed with. She whipped out her own pistol and held it against Sidney's temple. A woman and a man stood a couple feet away; the woman's expression of frustration remained the same, and, if anything, it had just worsened.  
"I'll tell you what I told Sidney: Put the fucking gun down," she demanded.   
"Are you the leader?" Jenna asked, a bit more quietly than intended.  
"Leader? No. We don't have one. Now, do I have to ask again?"  
           Jenna was one for taking risks now and then, but she wasn't stupid. She was only thirteen, and, if there was a fight, the three-against-one odds wouldn't help her age advantage. Jenna slowly moved the pistol away from Sidney's head.  
"Where are you from?" The woman asked.  
"Nowhere, but I am lost."  
"Do you have a group? Even Sidney couldn't survive alone."  
"Yes. There are six of us, but I'm not sure about three of them."  
"You said you're lost? How'd you get separated?"  
"Wolves attacked our camp."  
"Wolves? Damn," Sidney added in.  
"You seem pretty harmless, even with your weapon. Let's make a deal," Ren proposed.  
"Okay.." Jenna whispered.  
"We'll take you to find your group, and your group gives us something in return."  
"And what's that?"  
"Food. Water. Anything they have that we can use."  
"Oh, I-"  
          The woman leaned in, and Jenna caught a better view of her bloody, cracked glasses and similar scars to those on Sidney. She whispered, "And if you refuse, we'll just kill you and take it."


	22. Three Spires

"I think we should kill her," was the phrase that only earned a whole-hearted slap across the face and a nasty look from Sidney. Hailey wasn't phased in the least and attempted to justify his rash proposition. "Listen, Sidney, I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that she's gone crazy."   
"What will we do without her? If she dies, and we find out that Lea is dead, who will know what to do with the cure? How to make it?" Sidney shot back. "I'm tired, okay? Let's just take Jenna back to her group and get moving to New York."  
"You at least see what I mean, right?"   
        Sidney looked down and walked away, offering only that in response; they knew that Ren wasn't okay, but they didn't think they could go through with another one of them dying- not if they could help it. Sidney could handle Joseph; Maria they could just barely get over; Kegan choosing to leave them crossed the line, and Rose really hit them hard. Just thinking of those names made them want to fall to their knees and sob, but they knew they shouldn't. "They should be coming back soon," Sidney spoke up. "Get ready to leave."   
        Ren had taken Jenna hunting; she was really hell bent on not taking her eye off of the girl. Sure, they'd been together for nearly a month, but Ren still didn't trust her. All she wanted was their supplies; that was all she needed. Of course, if they refused, she wouldn't hesitate to use force. She didn't feel guilty; she shouldn't feel guilty. It was what she needed to do.   
        Dwelling on thoughts of their home always brought a deep, hollow feeling in their chest, which Sidney guessed meant they were homesick. They'd never felt homesickness before, not until they actually had time to think about it. They didn't bother when they were with Rose, but now they felt like they were surrounded by strangers and would do anything to get away from the reality of their situation. Sidney didn't want to go to New York. They didn't care if Ren would eventually save the world and they would miss it. They didn't care if they would die along the way. They wanted to go home. "Hey, Hailey?" Sidney borderline whispered.   
"Something wrong, Sid'?" He asked.  
"I was thinking about what you said earlier. I don't think we should kill her, but I think we should just leave," they admitted, nervously keeping their gaze focused on a centipede that had crawled up on the log they seated themselves.   
"That's better, eh? Now?"   
They thought, deeply but quickly. "Yeah.. Now."   
        No one would hit a kid, so Hailey was the chosen one for the brief wrath of Micheal's bat. To Sidney's surprise, Micheal hadn't erased their drawings at the very back of the writing pad that they had scribbled down so long ago. They were so happy to see Micheal again that they had nearly tackled him in a hug that would've knocked Sidney themselves to the ground. After a short while of being in each other's embrace, they both took care of Hailey's unconscious body, which Micheal apologized for in a hastily, sloppily written, 'Sorry'. And then, finally, he asked the question. The question being, of course, 'Do you know what happened to Lidia?' Sidney didn't hesitate to spill the story of everything that happened; his father, Rose, Dr. Winters, the Phoenix, stealing the horse, Jenna, running away from Ren; everything. Sidney ended up snuggling up to Micheal next to a fire they had started, although being next to Micheal in the spring weather was quite warm enough.   
        Hailey awoke only ten minutes later; at least, it felt like ten minutes to them, what with spending most of their time catching up with Micheal. "A community?" Sidney gawked. "You mean, people? Where?"  
Micheal smiled and scribbled something down on his pad.   
"Three Spires? What a name. How far away is it? How big is it?"   
He held up his pad to show the newly etched words.  
"Damn. Are you, y'know, a member?"   
Micheal nodded.   
"Can you take us there? How many people live there?"   
Micheal grinned and nodded, again holding up his notebook.  
"Twenty people? I don't know if that's a lot or a little compared to how things are now, but I'd like to be a part of that. Is it safe?"  
'It's pretty safe,' Micheal wrote down. 'A makeshift wall marks the border and circles the community.' After a pause, he continued, 'Though it's not much to look at. Just enough houses for all of us to share, a garden, and a place for livestock. The rest of the territory is uncharted parts of the city.'  
"How soon can we leave? You wanna go too, right, Hailey?" Sidney looked over at the drowsy man.   
"Yeah, yeah. It'd be nice to finally meet some more people, and a community definitely sounds nice, eh?" Hailey offered an obviously fake smile.  
"We still have plenty of daylight left, so it should be okay, right?" Sidney asked, energized by the thought of something new.   
"Yeah, but your friend here will have to lead the way. What's your name?"   
"His name is Micheal," they added. "He's mute."  
Micheal simply smiled.  
        The trek there was far from peaceful. Walkers littered the area; at every turn they were there, eagerly waiting to sink their teeth into the warm flesh of the living. Micheal explained that the community did this to scare or kill off any potential threats. However, any potential allies might also be killed, which was a downside he said he greatly disliked.  
       Sidney had their doubts about leaving Ren behind and almost wanted to turn back and run to her, but they knew that it was too late. They were too far away, and they doubted Hailey would go with them. As harsh and as cold as she could be, Ren was still a survivor.  
        Apparently, Three Spires was settled in the direction Sidney and Hailey had already come from, which Hailey expressed some frustration at. However, Sidney was too hyped up on the idea of a community to be disappointed at such a small thing as that.              
        Sundown is when they finally arrived at Three Spires. The entrance wasn't immediately visible, as the community was built further in. The trail to the wall, Micheal informed, should be safe; trained members of Three Spires were chosen to clear the area immediately around the path every once in a while. Still, he cautioned, they should watch for any stray walkers that lingered. When they really reached the entrance to Three Spires, the sight was almost more that what Sidney expected. A wooden wall, crude and uneven on the top, stood as a barricade to outsiders. Sharpened sticks stuck out from the ground to impale any dead that wandered too close, giving it more than an unwelcoming appearance. A man and a woman guarded the outside of the gate; one wielded a knife, and the other held a machete.   
"Hey, is that Micheal? Micheal!" The woman yelled over. "Welcome back!"   
Micheal waved back at the two guards.   
"You brought friends, did you? Who are you?" She addressed both Sidney and Hailey.  
"Sidney," they simply responded.   
"I'm Hailey," he smiled. "A community really is a nice sight."  
"Do you know Micheal?"  
"I do," Sidney quickly put in. "I knew him long before he knew you or Three Spires."  
"Well, you'll have to talk to Alexander about getting in, but he's speaking to someone else right now. Don't know how long that'll take."   
"And who's that?" they demanded.   
Micheal put his hand out in a gesture for them to calm down.  
"His name is Andre. He's the leader of another community that we trade with. They're brothers."   
  
"No, I wouldn't ever go back to that place. Why do you care?" Ren spat, slicing open the deer's soft underbelly.   
"We've encountered the Phoenix a couple times, too. What did they do to you?" Jenna asked.  
"The burned down a forest and killed almost half of our group."  
"But what about the community you were in? Why are they so bad?"  
"I left Three Spires because I thought I was actually helping by leaving, but then I figured out what Nicholas was really doing. I left altogether because both of them are- They're not good. Now that Andre leads the Phoenix, I doubt they're going to split up anytime soon. We're not going, if that's what you're thinking. We're just about as safe out here as we are in there. Three Spires is dangerous. They're madmen."


	23. Fidem Meam

Three Spires did indeed live up to its name. Their territory expanded far beyond what Micheal had told them. Inside the 'main' community was the largest of the three spires, and the building from which it rose above sat by the northwest corner of the wall. The second spire resided outside of the entire city itself; however, it was not a sub-community of Three Spires, but a checkpoint or trading station or whatever the use of it was for that day. It was most commonly used as a communication center between Three Spires and the Phoenix. The third spire was the furthest away, about thirty miles, and the only spire that was necessary to reach by horseback.   
        This was the information Sidney found being poured on themselves by the woman they had met at the gate a month before; the woman they now knew as Charlotte. Charlotte insisted that since Sidney was new and relatively inexperienced, they should go out with a small group from Three Spires to retrieve a man who had been injured by a spring trap, supposedly having been set by a member of the Phoenix out hunting. The man's name, she said, was Lafayette.  
        When Sidney asked if Hailey was going along, Charlotte simply told them that he was busy with something else, which only caused suspicion to creep up into the back of their mind. Knowing that Hailey had fled from the Phoenix and that Three Spires and the Phoenix were connected, it didn't take long for Sidney to come up with a conspiracy. They further slouched in the plush chair in Alexander's office, stubbornly crossing their arms across their chest.  
"So, how does it sound?" Charlotte asked from her seating place on the side of the broad desk.   
"It sounds like bullshit," Sidney grunted. "Why can't Hailey come?"   
"I just said, Sidney, he's busy. Hailey said he'd like to look into helping with the livestock, so someone is showing him how we do things. He's fine. Promise," she smiled. "I'll go with you on the trip if that'd help."   
"Don't think so highly of yourself just yet. We've only known each other for a month," they grumbled back.   
Charlotte leaned back and sighed; she was clearly forcing her smile. "Alright. Fine. If you'd rather be uprooting potatoes or shoveling up horse shit, feel free to stay."   
        Sidney just looked away with a tightly furrowed brow as a teenager, only a few years older than themselves, jokingly slapped their shoulder and loudly laughed at whatever joke he had just cracked. "Be careful with that," Sidney muttered, taking a step to the side.   
"I am, I am, don't worry," Regan reassured the younger, pointing his machete back towards the ground. "I should be the one telling you that, what with you waving around your revolver."   
"I'm not the one waving my weapon around. You're the one that's going to get someone killed, dumbass."   
"Excuse me? Is that how you talk to your elders?" Regan cast a deadly glare.  
"Please. Physically, you're older, but mentally is debatable."   
"You little-!"  
"Boys, boys, please calm down. We're nearly there," a woman pleaded from atop the horse she had brought along. "I hope Lafayette was able to make his way to the spire. If he didn't, I'd like for at least one of you to be in one piece so we can go looking for him."  
"Such a buzzkill as always, Azalia. We were just kidding, right, Sid?" Regan elbowed their arm in an overwhelmingly friendly manner.   
Sidney shirked away from his touch. "Yeah, sure."   
"You're seventeen, Regan. Please act like it," Azalia suggested with a heavy sigh. "Oh, and I forgot to ask before we left: do you have any other weapons, Sidney? If you were ever in trouble alone, that'd only draw more of these things."   
"I'm sure I can manage," Sidney quickly dismissed the question.   
"Alright." She shook her head. "I have another knife if you change your mind."   
Instead of bothering to argue, they responded with a simple, "Thanks."  
        The spire wasn't much to look at compared to the one inside the walls; it was old and dilapidated. The weeds and bushes around the exterior were overgrown to the point that they had spilled over the side of the porch. This was a building that was on its last legs, even three and a half years ago. Sidney guessed that keeping it this way was to hide it from potential enemies, being a common meet-up between the two groups, but who would that be? Micheal spoke of warding off intruders via walkers but didn't speak of any other groups besides the Phoenix.  
"Lafayette! What on earth happened to you?"  
        Sidney averted their gaze from the towering spire to the man that stumbled out of the building below. Lafayette's tan skin was covered in dirt and blood, but his clothes were relatively intact, minus a few, small tears. They weren't very much surprised to see that his left forearm had been severed, leaving behind only a stump. With a wavering grin, Lafayette answered, "I thought you'd already heard the story?"   
Azalia sighed and dismounted the mare. "Get on. The faster we get there, the faster you get taken care of."   
        Lafayette limped over to Azalia, near collapsing on her shoulder as soon as he got within reach and, with some trouble and help from the woman, eagerly rested in the saddle. Wordless and without complication, the group began walking back to Three Spires. "So, Lafayette, you remember Sidney, don't you?" Azalia asked.   
"I believe we've met once before. You were with, ah, Hailey, right?"   
Sidney nodded. "Yeah." They suddenly looked up. "Lafayette, Charlotte told me you take care of the horses."  
"That is true, yes." He smiled and stroked the mare's neck. "This one is Lucy."   
"Right, yeah. Did Hailey speak with you about helping with the livestock?"  
Lafayette leaned back. "No, I haven't really seen him since you first came, but he may have spoken to someone else."   
"I haven't seen him, either. That's saying a lot. He wouldn't just run from me, would he?"   
"What are you saying?" Regan interrupted.   
"This is probably too much too soon since we've only known each other for a month, but I've thought about it. I think the Phoenix has done something with Hailey."   
"Why would they?" Azalia put in. "You mean because he used to be with them?"   
"As long as you're with us, the Phoenix shouldn't be able to bother you two. Sure, we have an agreement, but we keep them in check," Lafayette assured.  
"Really? What guarantees our safety? Andre and Alexander are brothers, and, if they're that close, if one of them wants us dead, the other sure as hell will, too."   
        Sidney pounded their fist on the door to Alexander's office, throwing away all manners as common sense morphed into the fiery pit of anger that swelled in their chest. Regan followed close behind and grabbed Sidney's arm. "Don't do anything you'll regret, kid," he warned.   
"Don't call me that. We're only a year and a half apart."  
"I'm really warning you, Sidney." Regan's face grew grave. "You might regret this."   
Incredibly impatient, they simply threw open the door, only to find an empty room. "Where the hell is he?!"  
Regan whipped them around by their arm and slapped them. "You're being stupid, even more stupid than I usually am. Just wait it out. Please. You'll find him, just don't do it like this."   
        Sidney returned the stare that Regan cast their way and looked into his deep, brown eyes; the sting of Regan's hand registered in their mind, but, even then, they felt their breathing slow as they calmed down. In no way were Sidney and Regan friends; Regan always pestered them when they were busy doing something and tried way too hard just to be with them, but Sidney could understand why. He was lonely. There were no other children in Three Spires, much less teens like themselves. "Okay?" Regan spoke up; his own gaze had softened.   
"Okay," Sidney whispered.   
        The sun was still high in the sky when Sidney found themselves alone outside, leaning on the fence that enclosed a small, grassed area for a few horses. A swing set and a climbing area stood in the middle of the 'pasture'. With the run-down bathrooms outside of the fence, the area clearly used to be a park but was the only area barely large enough for horses. The two goats that Three Spires contained grazed with the horses and, so long as they didn't do any damage, were allowed to wander the community if they escaped the fence's confines.  
"Um, Sidney?" Someone meekly addressed them.   
They quickly turned, not surprised to find Regan. "What?" Disappointed, Sidney resumed their original position.   
"I'm sorry for hitting you," he admitted; his voice was lighter, something it did when he was nervous. "I know you've been outside for so long. I just thought that if you did something drastic they'd kick you out, and I don't want to see that happen." After a pause Regan added, "To anyone, I mean. Not just to you."   
"Don't worry. It's fine."  
He stepped up to Sidney's level and pulled himself up to sit on the fence. "And I've been meaning to ask you something. I hope it's not too personal."   
"Yeah? What is it?" They looked up at him, and the sunlight did well to light the object in question.   
"Where did you get those scars?"   
Sidney whipped their head away, staring back towards the ground. They had nearly forgotten about them. "I was in a fire. Are they bad?"   
"I guess they're not too bad, but I like them."  
"Huh?" They looked back up at him. "Why?"   
"Not because they look cool, or because they're 'masculine'. I like them because it shows what you've been through, what you've done; stuff like that."  
 "Do you have any scars, then?" They fully stood, looking at him with a renewed interest.  
Regan smiled. "Don't we all?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ive seen goats find ways to get out of a pasture/fenced in place thing its crAZY OKAY


	24. This Dangerous Path We Walk

 A crowd gathered around the body that had been covered in a sheet since it was first found. Most everyone knew who it was, and almost nobody cared. He was a traitor, and this had been his decided punishment. Nobody saw it happen, but everyone knew it happened. Nobody cried; nobody celebrated; nobody did anything except watch as the body's flesh peeled off in the flames, shrinking and bursting until the fatty layer of skin oozed out like melted wax spilling out over a candle holder. All that was left after the excruciatingly long ceremony that lasted long into the night was a marred skeleton with bits and pieces of charred muscle still clinging on to the bone. Everyone acted as if nothing had happened, so they kept their mouth shut, too.   
        Sidney stopped in front of Regan's bedroom door; their fist hovered just in front of it, hesitating to knock. They rapped on the door. "Regan?" Sidney called out. A shuffling noise ensued. "Lafayette told me to-"  
Regan quickly opened the door. "You're leaving already?"   
"Yeah. Are you okay? You look-"  
"I'm fine, Sid. Azalia, Lafayette, and some others are going with you, right?" Regan leaned against the doorframe.   
"Yeah, they are. Lafayette told me to let you know that we were leaving." Sidney backed away. "So, uh, I guess goodbye, then?"  
He suddenly embraced Sidney, squeezed them tightly, and whispered, "Please be careful."   
Their pulse sped up, and they rigidly returned his gesture. "I will, R. Don't worry. We'll be back in a couple days."   
        They pulled away from each other, and, after saying their goodbyes, Regan retreated back into his room. Sidney stood there for a few minutes, quietly listening for something, but nothing came. They basked in the glow of the hug, silently smiling to themselves but left the hallway when the feeling finally dulled. They hurried down the stairs and made their way outside where, mounted on horses, Azalia and Lafayette waited with some other civilians. Lafayette greeted them with a smile and helped them mount Lucy behind himself. "You might want to hang on tight. She's got a helluva bumpy canter."   
Sidney looped their arms around Lafayette's waist. "Should make for one  _exciting_ first ride, then."   
"When you two are done having your little chat, we're ready to go," Azalia interrupted, casting them a sharp glare from the front of the group.   
Lafayette chuckled. "Sorry, little sis! We're ready."   
"Christ, don't call me that. Let's just go before they get all of it."   
        Along the way, Azalia explained to Sidney that Alexander had ordered them to search for supplies in the houses far outside the walls. These houses were the only ones they hadn't searched within the neighborhood simply because Alexander didn't see the need until now. They were running severely low on medical supplies and water, which they would need soon when a citizen of Three Spires finally had her baby. Whether it was a male or female, the woman was going to name it Jo, after a man who had saved her life but was now deceased. When Sidney asked if 'Jo' was short for something, the reply Azalia gave was 'Joseph,' but the woman wanted to use a gender-neutral version. Sidney grew quiet and didn't ask any further questions.  
      None of them needed to be told when they arrived at their destination; it was clear by the look of things that the area hadn't been touched for quite some time. They turned their horses and slowly walked into the neighborhood. "Alright," Azalia began. "Lafayette, you and Sidney take this first house; Madison, you and I'll take the second, and Charles will have to stay outside and watch the horses. We go down the row of houses until we fill up our bags, then we can go home. Sidney, do you have the knife I gave you?"  
They slid the knife's clip off of their pocket and pressed down on a tab on the side, causing the blade to spring out. "Yup."  
"Good."  
       Azalia dismounted her horse, followed up by all the rest. As expected, a man stayed behind as a lookout, Azalia and Madison jogged the short ways to the second house, and Sidney followed Lafayette up to the first.           The grass was dead and stained with blood that surrounded a fly-swarmed clump of meat that they were sure was once a person. A dirt-stained volleyball sat lonesome in the corner of a fence. The windows were shattered. Red streaks slithered out of the pane, across the dirt and pavement, and led right up to the dead heap of flesh that seemed to smell worse every time they glanced down at it. The front door was closed, but a simple push was all it took to fix that. The locks were broken, and the handle was barely attached to the door.  
         Lafayette's footsteps heavily echoed through the silent room, followed closely by Sidney's. "Don't look," he said. "Just go search another room." But they couldn't look away. Above the entrance was a large chandelier, and hanging from the chain which the decor hung from was a rope, tightly woven around a woman's neck. The walker growled and clawed at them. Before Lafayette could tell them twice, Sidney had left the entry way and hurried into the kitchen.   
        What was there shook them even further. To the left, a body was slumped over on the couch, and an axe had been driven into its skull; the rotting brain was half-spilled out onto the back of the furniture and on the tile floor. They turned their back to the scene and opened the fridge. A strong, putrid scent overtook their senses. A loud 'thump' caught their attention, but Sidney felt somewhat more at ease when they realized Lafayette had taken the walker down. They shut the fridge and ravaged through the cabinets, only finding an unopened box of undoubtedly stale crackers and a few bottles of water; barely enough to fill the bag.  
         Sidney left the living room and kitchen. Though they doubted any of the other rooms would have anything, they decided it best to check. They entered the smallest of the two bedrooms. In the right corner of the pale blue room was a crib. Sidney didn't have the courage to look inside and ran out into the second room.  
          A scratching noise came from the closet, which was immediately in front of the door. When they tried to open it, it was locked. A diary sat on a bedside desk; on the front cover, written in glitter, was the name 'Rachel'. Sidney opened it:  
      'Mommy said I couldn't go outside to play with my friends today. I asked her why and she said it was because of the strange people that were outside and that they wanted to hurt me. Why would they want to hurt me? I just want to see my friend again.'  
They flipped the page:  
       'I'm really hungry. Whenever I ask mommy if I can eat she always just says no or maybe soon. The baby cries alot and I can tell that mommy is really sad. I can start to see her bones now. Daddy too. They say I can't see the baby but I don't know why. When I asked mommy she just said its because he's sick.'  
A bad feeling swept over them, but they continued:  
       'Mommy is acting strange and daddy is worried about her. The baby doesn't cry anymore though. I think that's good but mommy doesn't look any better. Daddy doesn't talk much and always tells me to stay in my room. Mommy won't give me food but I know we have some. I saw some in the kitchen yesterday. She said if I ever came out of my room again that I would get in trouble. Daddy didn't say anything.'  
Sidney looked up from the diary and struggled to keep going:  
      'I went outside of my room today because I heard someone screaming but mommy caught me and put me in the closet as a punishment. She said she would come back when she was sure I learned my lesson but I'm scared. I don't like the dark. Mommy locked the door but I don't know where she put the key. I heard a sound that sounds like when she swallows her pills though. I'm scared.'  
      They took a step back but realized something. If the daughter was in the closet, how could she have written in the diary? Sidney looked closer and saw that the penmanship was different; it was neater, but the pen was pushed down so much in some areas that it almost ripped through the paper. Scribbles and half-written words filled up the rest of the paper, but some of the words they could make out: "Scared," "Whiny bitch," and "Hungry". The rest were unintelliable or scribbled out.   
        She heard a sound that sounded like her mother taking pills. That must've meant that the mother had swallowed the key. Sidney sighed and closed the book. The body on the couch must've been the father, and the screams she heard were from when the mother murdered him, driven insane by hunger. They walked back into the entry. Lafayette had already killed it, but Sidney would've preferred that job over what they were going to do next.   
         They plunged the knife into the mother's stomach and sliced her torso open. Sidney tried their best not to vomit. They reluctantly pulled back the flesh and looked about for something metal or anything that resembled a key. Then they found it. Their hand grasped something small and pulled it out. It was the key. Sidney ran into the kitchen and vomited into the sink. They took their time to prepare themselves for what was inside the closet.   
        The key was the perfect fit for the lock, and they slowly opened the closet door. A small walker lay flat on the ground. It groaned and tried to move but was so emaciated it couldn't even lift its head. Sidney kneeled and placed their hand on its shoulder, which it didn't even respond to. They left the room after the deed was done but made sure to leave the closet open.  
         Lafayette and Sidney both wordlessly left the house, and neither asked what the other had found; the look on their faces told enough. He didn't even question why Sidney had rummaged through a walker's torso, but he trusted them. Charles still stood with the horses. "Maddy and Azalia have already done the third and fourth houses. What took so long in there?"  
          Suddenly the sharp, unmistakable smell of smoke that Sidney knew all too well infested the air. From which direction, they couldn't tell. It seemed to be from all sides all at once. Madison and Azalia came running towards them, and Sidney was pulled back toward the horses as the house they had just been in was already partially in flames. Lucy nervously pawed the ground and pulled on Charles' grasp on the reins. The second house was starting to kindle a fire, and it quickly spread, mostly due to the fact that the houses were so close together.   
        Sidney just watched the fire as Lafayette tried to calm the horses down. "We should go. Maddy and I have our bags more than halfway full, and at least you have some things," Azalia said. "Let's just go home."  
          They all rode home in silence. All of them knew that the others knew who did it. To be fair, the Phoenix didn't know they were going to this particular area, but Azalia said that they only set fire to areas that were walker-heavy; more specifically, an area of walkers that they couldn't control. One of the houses they checked didn't have any walkers at all. In total, including Sidney's two, they only had to kill six walkers.   
         Call them paranoid, it didn't take Sidney long to guess what had happened, and they didn't bother to keep it to themselves. They shared their thoughts that the Phoenix might be trying to kill them. Not only Sidney, but everyone in Three Spires. They didn't have very much proof, but why wouldn't they? The Phoenix barely get anything out of the relationship with Three Spires, and it would be so much easier to just kill them and take it; especially since that was what they were already doing to everyone else.  
       Lafayette wasn't afraid to agree, but Azalia just remained silent. She knew that Sidney might be on to something, but no way in hell did she want to start anything with the Phoenix. That was a battle they couldn't win. Things were fine the way they were now, and she wasn't so eager to play with fire. Literally.   
        No one was waiting on them, and no one was there to welcome them back; not even Regan, which surprised both Lafayette and Sidney. The community just seemed so still and eerily silent. Perhaps it was just the aftershock of what they saw that made it seem this way, but even Azalia looked a little unnerved, even if she did not say so. They all just stood there for a few moments, contemplating what to do.  
        Loud steps split the silence. Andre strode towards them. Sidney instinctively went for their gun but remembered they had left it in the armoury. "I bet you're.. wondering why everyone's gone, huh?" Andre asked, motioning towards the houses.   
"Where's Alexander?" Azalia demanded.  
Andre smiled. "He's right here, ma'am. Now, I want you to think. Think about it. Have you ever really seen Alexander? Any of you? Do you know why? I can see it in your eyes. You're suddenly realizing it, aren't you? _I'm_  Alexander." Andre chuckled. "Of course, my name is still Andre. That still doesn't explain what I've done with your friends, though, does it? You see, I tried to do well. I tried to make a community that wasn't all about killing; a real community. I'd already made a name for myself in that business, so I had to figure out a different way to.. lure people in." He shrugged.  
"So, I put on a different name and stayed in the shadows, but I guess it's just not my thing, you know? Caring for two communities as two different people with two different personalities- kinda hard. Now I'm just rambling. What I mean to say is: you and your friends need to leave. Now. We took care of them; they're all at the north exit of the neighborhood all ready to go. When I say 'all,' however, I mean the ones that didn't put up a fight. The ones we didn't kill. By 'all,' I mean just a little less than half. You can expect the pregnant lady to be there, though. Run along, now. Don't just stand there."  
      Azalia didn't force another word and ordered them to follow her outside the walls. None of them spoke. They just walked away. Sidney prayed and begged that Regan was with the group. They wouldn't have cared if the Phoenix had killed everyone else. As long as he was alive, they would be okay, and they weren't embarrassed to say that to themselves.   
        The group was considerably smaller than twenty five people. Clearly, Andre had lied. There were a lot less than half the original number. Only ten people remained, which included the five that Andre had just chased away. Micheal wasn't in the group, but as they dove into Regan's warm, tight embrace, they didn't worry about it too much. Regan sobbed and smiled and laughed all at the same time, and Sidney returned the sentimentality in equal intensity.   
        Apart from Regan and Azalia's group, Charlotte, Tiffany, Marcus, Taylor, and David remained. "So this is it," Azalia muttered to herself. "What do we do now?"


	25. Broken Compasses

       "Shit," Sidney muttered to themselves, watching helplessly onward as their poorly aimed arrow scared off the target doe. She bounded out of the small clearing and disappeared in between the tightly woven trees of the woodland. Sidney stepped out of their wildflower and brush hiding place, picked up the arrow, and slid it into the backpack they wore. The grass was still dewy from the rain that had fallen just a few hours ago, and the saturation leaked into their old and terribly torn shoes. A cold gust swept through the clearing, rustling the trees' branches as the grass swayed with the slow movement. Sidney shivered and adjusted their over-sized hoodie, and the warmth flushed against their skin anew.   
        They began meandering in the direction that the deer had run in. They weren't in any rush, and they certainly didn't want to waste the rarity that was this peaceful trek. Azalia had given both Regan and Sidney walkie-talkies that Lafayette had fixed for them, so, if Regan ran into trouble while he was hunting, Sidney would know. They breathed deeply in and smiled; the smell of petrichor and the feel of the smooth, cold air filled their lungs. Regan's staticky voice broke the serene silence, "Hey, Sidney. You have the bag that Azalia lets us borrow, right?"  
They grabbed the walkie-talkie from the side pocket of the backpack, pressed down on the button, and spoke, "Yeah, I do. Why? Do you need something?" They released the tab.  
"I'm fine, but I did catch something in the traps."   
"I hope it wasn't Lafayette again," Sidney feigned concern.   
They heard Regan's chuckles when he responded, "No, no, it's just a rabbit and a squirrel. Did you find anything?"   
Sidney froze and crouched.   
"Sidney? Are you okay?"  
They gently shushed him and whispered, "Wow. There are, like," Sidney paused and counted, "seven walkers over here; all crowded in one place."   
A whole minute or so passed before Regan responded, "Don't get too close. What are they doing? Are they eating something?"  
The majority of the walkers were down on their knees, and only a few remained standing. They didn't seem to notice Sidney. "I can't see from here. It looks like it."   
       They observed the scene from their spot three trees away. Sidney leaned to the side to get a better view. They could clearly smell the foul stench of rot from where they were. They clutched their knife tightly and waited. Only one walker was standing now, and the others had found an area to feast on whatever lay on the ground. The lone walker looked around and stood eerily still; its eyes were locked with theirs. "Sidney? Sidney?" Regan's voice was distressed.   
"Sidney?" The voice wasn't Regan's; instead, it came from the walker-like figure staring them down.  
"Are you okay? Did something happen?" He quickly bombarded them with questions. "Sidney?"   
        Sidney swiftly stood up and stepped back, unable to avert their eyes. The stranger strode towards them, and that's when they ran. Over fallen branches and roots they simply jumped. Their pulse beat wildly as they just narrowly avoided slamming into the trunk of a tree. The smell of petrichor intensified, and they felt droplets of water hit their skin. "Sidney?" Regan nearly shouted through the walkie-talkie.   
Sidney picked it up and whispered, "I need to run. I'll see you back at camp."   
        The last thing they heard of Regan was, "Wait, wait-" before they clumsily stuffed it back into the backpack. The rain began to fall even harder, and they heard their pursuer curse, "Shit. Sidney! Please, wait!" They looked back and did a hard stop right in front of a creek they would've run through. They finally recognized the stranger now that the rain had helped wipe away the guts and gore smeared on her clothes and face, but, before they could manage a word out, they were cut off by Regan's muffled static voice. Neither of them could make out what he said over the loud shouts and agonizing screams, but, right before the noise cut out, Sidney caught the words, "..plea-..stay away."  
Lea grabbed Sidney's arm when they tried to turn away. "You heard them, Sidney. It sounds dangerous."  
They obstinately looked away, jerked their arm out of her grasp, and snapped back, "You don't get to tell me what to do after being away for so long, and I'm not going to just sit by while whatever happens, happens. I won't _abandon_  them."  
She pulled her arm back and dramatically rolled her eyes. "Fine. I see where you're coming from, but you don't have to be so damn passive-aggressive about it. I'm here now, and I want to take you with me. I still have the cure, and I know exactly where to go for it to be the most effective."  
Sidney stared at her, torn between just leaving without another word and leaving with a "Fuck you".   
"Listen, I'm sorry, okay? I did look for you. I looked for all of you, but I gave up. I'm not going to lie about this. The cure is more important than you or anyone else in that group, but you can still come along. We can do it together."  
"If you really feel that way, why don't you just go alone? If me and the cure were put in a situation where you'd have to choose one or the other, I'd rather not die. I have something to live for, now, even if- even if that means giving up on the rest of the world." Sidney walked over the small stream and looked back, "Now, leave. Go on to save the world or whatever the hell you're doing."   
Lea followed them. "Wait! Take me to your group, and I'll tell them about the cure. Then, maybe, they'll come with me. You don't have to abandon them."   
They answered, nearly shouting, "Why, Lea? Do you really want people to come with you? Do you want friends or just pawns that will protect you because they think you're their savior? There's a difference, in case you couldn't tell."   
"Sidney, I-"   
"Are you there, Sid?" It was Lafayette's distressed voice this time. "I- hope you- on your way [Azalia, ov- here!], or, at lea-, not dead. Now would- a good time to show up. You-" His voice cut out.   
They closed their eyes and sighed. "I have to go. Now. Goodbye, Lea."   
        And off they went running through the woodlands- again; however, this time, they knew that Lea hadn't followed them, but they weren't relieved. A small part of Sidney wished that she would follow them, but they knew what she wanted to do right when she realized there was a cure, even if it meant throwing away her only friends like she hadn't even known them in the first place. Ren would've done the same; they were certain of that, but they also knew that it was more or less the right thing to do.   
        The camp was a massacre. Corpses were strewn about the dirt, tents were collapsed and torn, walkers roamed about, and no one was in sight. It had been deserted. One of the horses laid in the middle of the campsite, organs ripped out and being feasted upon by the monstrosities that were the living dead. Luckily for Sidney, there were only four walkers that remained; the rest had been killed off by the others. 'The rest,' of course, being way more than what Sidney guessed that they were capable of fending off. It must've been a massive horde. A horde, they guessed, that was undoubtedly brought by the Phoenix, even if they didn't have a particular reason to. They were murderers; they didn't need a reason to do what they do.  
A familiar, staticky voice emanated from their backpack, "Hey, Sidney, are you there? It's me, R."  
Sidney slid the backpack off of their shoulders and fished out the walkie-talkie. "Yeah, I'm here."   
"That's a relief. I was really worried when you didn't answer and just left me with saying you had to run, and-"  
They smiled. "I'm sorry, Regan, but I'm okay. Where are you?"   
"I don't know," Regan paused. "But there's a sign nearby that says, 'Monroe County.' That must be where we are, huh?"   
Sidney chuckled, despite their unfortunate circumstance. "I guess so. Which direction did you leave in?"   
"East, I think. Yeah, east." Silence ensued before he spoke again, "Azalia wants to know if you still have your bow and knife."   
"I do, but I only have three more arrows left," Sidney answered. "Is everyone okay?"  
"We're all okay, yeah. Nobody was hurt, and we've already set up camp. But-" He stopped.  
They panicked. "R? Are you okay? R?"  
"No, no, I'm fine. Tiffany is in labour." Regan audibly laughed. "We're going to have a new edition soon."  
Sidney slowly wandered their way around the group of walkers and away from the camp. "She's naming it Jo, right?"  
"I think it's a totally rad name, so I'm all for it."   
They scoffed. "Rad? Do you actually say that?" They jumped over a log.   
"Hey, what's wrong with that? I think rad is a pretty rad word."   
Sidney laughed. "Sure, R."   
"I can dream, can't I, Sid?" Regan over-dramatically sighed.   
They shook their head and smiled contentedly, and the familiar warmth and fuzziness grew in their chest. "Totally."  
        A fence stood in front of their path, half-hidden by overgrown trees and bushes. A house remained on the other side. Sidney held the top of the fence, and, with a boost from the brush and more than a little struggle, pulled themselves over the barricade. They roughly landed on their back with a loud groan and a painful moan. Sidney pushed themselves up and brushed the grass off of their clothes. Since Tiffany was in labour and the group probably wasn't in any rush, they decided to investigate the house's interior.   
        The door was locked, so they cracked and broke a window with the bottom, small pointed end of their knife. Gently moving away the pieces of broken glass, Sidney crawled through the opening and into the living room. Everything was in place, except for the window they had just smashed, and oddly clean. The tables and furniture they walked pass hadn't even collected dust; strange, considering anyone living here would've heard their noisy entrance.   
        Sidney strolled down a hallway to the right and opened an unlocked door. It was a bedroom. The bed was neatly made, and the curtains were pulled back to let in whatever sunlight was filtered through the trees. A vase full of lilies was set on a bedside desk to the right, and a lamp was set on the one to the left. They stepped out and closed the door. Despite the clean appearance, the house gave them a weird uneasiness, like they weren't welcome here. Sidney hadn't ever felt like this with the other houses they had looted. Another door lay just ahead and, when they opened it, led to the garage. "Oh, boy," they muttered in awe.   
        Opened crates of canned food sat there, right in front of them; some were stacked on top of each other, and some were closed. A dog barked from inside its kennel; not a threatening or aggressive bark, but a greeting and playful one. The dog was a- maybe, some kind of terrier?-; Sidney wasn't too sure. First, they ran to the crates, filling their backpack as full as they could bear to carry; water and canned corn was the most abundant in the collection. Then, they turned to the dog, who had been barking and eagerly wagging its tail ever since it laid eyes on them. They pulled out their walkie-talkie, "R, you'll never believe what I just found."  
It took a while for Regan to respond, "Yeah? I'll believe just about anything these days."   
"There's tons of food and water in this house I'm in, and, plus, there's a dog."   
"Uh, Sidney?"  
"Yeah? Is something wrong?"  
"Shouldn't you leave the food there? Does someone live in that house?"  
"Nobody's here, and there's so much of it, R!" Sidney smiled and playfully rubbed the dog's neck.   
They heard Regan's frustrated sigh. "Just don't take all of it. Are you going to take the dog, too? You are, aren't you?"  
Sidney opened the kennel, and the dog practically pounced on them. "Please?"   
"I don't know, Sid. Are you sure about this?"   
"We have nothing except the rabbits you caught."  
"One of them was a squirrel, actually."  
Sidney groaned. "Okay, a rabbit and a squirrel. That's it."  
Regan, again, waited to answer. "A compelling point." He sighed in an over-the-top manner. "Fine. Get what you want and leave. Don't look back and don't get killed."   
They laughed victoriously. "Of course I won't. Oh, by the way, this dog's name is.." Sidney read the small print on the tag, which was covered in rust and dirt. "Her name is Bailey."   
"Just- Hurry back."   
        If they were being honest with themselves, they had no idea of where they were going. They hadn't ever been to Michigan until they practically forced Rose and Micheal to, and they had no idea where Moore County was. So, in short, they were terribly lost. "Um, R?" Sidney cautiously asked, stopping dead in their tracks at what lay before them.  
"Yeah, Sidney?"  
They pulled out their knife. "Is there, by chance, a tank surrounded by hundreds of walkers by the camp?"   
Regan laughed in disbelief. "Holy shit. You're an idiot, you know that?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Petrichor: a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.


	26. Life Without Living

        This was the moment they regretted bringing Bailey along. The dog's barking and growling caught the attention of the walkers, and, before they knew it, an uncountable horde of the walking hide was stumbling towards them. However, Sidney and Bailey did agree on one thing: getting the hell out of there. The rotting bags of flesh, of course, were slow by themselves, but a horde as big as this one was more than intimidating; Sidney and Bailey could only run for so long, after all, especially with the weight of their backpack.  
The static from the walkie-talkie flickered for a second before Regan spoke, "Sidney, is anything happening?"   
They lifted it up to their mouth, "Oh, yeah. Bailey went nuts and unleashed the entire horde on us, so, uh, yeah."   
"What? Fuck, Sidney."   
"But- But I'm running- so, I should be fine- if I get somewhere- safe." It became increasingly hard to breathe, what with Sidney sprinting as fast as they could and the overwhelmingly disgusting scent of rot; they couldn't believe what it must be like for the dog.   
"You could try to lose them somewhere, can't you? [Are you talking to Sidney?]," Azalia's voice joined in the conversation.   
A pause followed, and Sidney guessed that it was Regan talking to Azalia; they weren't very surprised to hear Azalia's scornful tone next, "Sidney, what the hell did you get yourself into? [Chill, man.]"   
"Well, I- I was looking for you, and, I- I guess, I just- got lost."   
"I really don't know what to do, Sidney." They heard her sigh. "It's all you."   
        Sidney waited for something else, but simple silence remained. Azalia must have taken Regan somewhere else, which was predictable. She knew that something was blossoming between the two, and they both knew she didn't approve of it. Lafayette liked to make fun of her uptight persona when he was with the two, but Lafayette was the only person she would excuse of the act. Despite this, she made one damn good leader; if Andre had been out of the question, there's no doubt she would've led Three Spires.   
        They were so caught up with their thoughts of getting away that they had hardly noticed the throbbing, burning sensation in their legs and feet. Bailey was far better off; she barely looked winded. Sidney slowed down to a walk; their breathing was rapid and uneven. Bailey jogged next to them; her tongue waggled out of her mouth, and her paw prints were wet with perspiration. Sidney didn't dare to look back. The volume of the groaning and snarling the walkers made was enough to convince them not to.   
        With the time they had spent walking, the horde had only drawn nearer, but they were far too worn out to run again. Was it just them, or was it getting warmer? The temperature seemed to have skyrocketed since the morning, and the layers of clothing they wore certainly didn't help. Even if the horde stopped following Sidney directly, nothing stopping it from dragging itself this way through the forests and buildings, murdering everything in sight for food and doing it all over again once it moved on. They prayed that they were going in the right direction originally; that they had set up camp past the wreckage. If they hadn't, and the camp was in the direction they were going now, they were all screwed; unless, somehow, the horde was stopped or killed. As much of a waste as it would be, they knew what they had to do.   
        They had remembered the way back to the house, and most of the horde had remained intact while little groups had broken off along the way. Sidney gently forced the dog through the broken window and climbed in themselves. Two, small creatures such as themselves weren't enough to divert the entire horde, but it was enough to capture the attention of a small group. They swarmed the house, and a few of them almost made their way in through the smashed window pane. Again, nobody was in the house, which gave them permission to execute their plan if they could get it done before the rest of the horde wandered away.   
        Sidney rummaged through the cabinets, drawers, dressers; anything that might have what they were looking for. The snarls of the walkers still hadn't died down. Then, they found it- matches. They wagered that they didn't need lighter fluid. The hot, dry weather was enough. Sidney stood in front of the window and struck a match, but it didn't light. Their hands shook with the nervousness of standing in front of monsters trying to claw their way toward you to rip you open and tear you apart. The third match caught flame.  
        They threw it into the group, and it went up in flames. The walkers hardly seemed to notice, even when their already droopy flesh peeled off of the bone, and their brittle bones broke down, scarred and charred by the fire. Even when the rest of the horde down the road noticed the house burst into flames and stupidly threw themselves into the inferno, they hardly noticed the life that made their way outside and over the fence. The walkers didn't care. They couldn't think; they could only hear and see, and the only thing they saw was the orange waves engulfing their skulls in a hellish dance.   
        Sidney didn't look back as they retraced their steps all the way to where they started- the camp. Most of the remaining walkers had wandered off, likely in pursuit of their fiery demise. One of the tents was shaking; the movement gave shape to the deflated fabric, like a person moving around. "Hello?" Sidney threw caution to the wind. "Who's there?" They made their way around a horse's corpse and a walker who was too preoccupied with feasting on said horse's organs to notice them. Of course, it was just a walker. They stabbed it without another thought, except- who was that in the distance?   
        The figure made odd movements with its hands while simultaneously aiming a gun right at them. Though it was quite hard to tell through the intestines hanging about her shoulders and the blood smeared on her coat and skin, the figure was Lea. "Sidney, watch out!" She shouted as loud as her lungs and throat would allow. But it was already too late. By the time Sidney had turned to spot what she was screaming at, the walker had already sunk its teeth into their skin, painfully tearing off a chunk of flesh.   
        Before they allowed themselves to cry and scream in pain and realize what this meant, Sidney thrust their knife into its forehead. "Sidney!" Regan shouted through the walkie-talkie, "Are you alright? Lafayette helped me sneak away from Azalia's work so that I could talk to you."  
        They didn't know how to answer. They didn't know if they could. Sidney's throat seemed to go completely dry as they stared at their bleeding wound, and they didn't even look at Lea as she ran up to them and hurriedly set something up; her hands were shaking almost as much as Sidney's. "I- I'm-" was all they managed to choke out.  
"Sidney?"  
"I'm bitten," they whispered, hardly noticing the sharp pain of Lea injecting something into their arm.   
  
And, all at once, everything seemed to stop.


	27. The Longest Hour

"You're- You- What?" Regan just sat there; his lips quivered as if to say something, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.  
Apparently the numbness of his senses was a mutual feeling, as he received no answer.   
"Sidney? Please, answer, Sidney!" Regan's voice was lighter as he shouted those words, something Sidney knew he only did when he was scared.   
        Regan dropped the walkie-talkie like it was searing hot to the touch and darted out of the tent. The only thing he knew what to do was to go find Sidney, where ever that may be. He jogged over to where the horses were tied, and the only thing that was stopping him from jumping on and taking off alone was his conscious. So, that's why he was going to take Lafayette. "Lafayette!" Regan called out. "I need you to help me with something." He still hadn't been able to calm down.  
"Regan?" Lafayette stood from filling up the water trough. "Are you-"  
"Sidney's been bitten. I would've gone out alone by now, but I know Azalia wouldn't have liked it. We need to hurry."  
Lafayette clumsily dropped the bucket of water. "Oh, yes! Right away!"   
        And as soon as Lafayette had tacked up and untied two of the horses, they were off. Regan was grateful that Azalia wasn't around to interfere. Every minute counted, especially when it involved Sidney, but not simply because Sidney was the only friend he had. It was this way because he loved them, and he wasn't ashamed to say it, even if others would be to hear it. He loved them.  
        Sidney looked down at their arm and wiped away the blood that still poured from the open wound. Lea crouched next to them and smiled. It was only then that Sidney noticed she had the same scars they did. She pulled something else out of her bag, tightly wrapped the musty, dirty rag slightly above the wound, looked them right in the eye, and whispered, "You're going to be okay."   
        They stared down at her; tears brimmed in their eyes, and whether they were in comfort or disbelief she couldn't tell. The only thing Sidney could do was drop to their knees and fall into Lea's arms. They didn't know what to say about it or how to express their gratitude for what she had done, but this was the only way they could because their teary eyes and tight throat wouldn't allow anything else.  
  
And things would get better, which Sidney would find out soon enough.  
  
Static cracked, and Lafayette's voice resounded, "Sidney? Where are you?"  
Lea answered in place of Sidney, "We're at your camp. I'm Lea, Sidney's friend."   
        Nothing else came through, but Lea was sure she'd have explaining to do when Regan and Lafayette finally got there. She was certain that they had noticed the fire, -who couldn't have?- but neither of them asked nor seemed to care, as both were overjoyed to see their friend in, at least, semi-good health. However, Lafayette was more concerned of the stranger lurking over their reunion than Regan sobbing over Sidney.   
"You're Lea?" Lafayette asked, staring up at her from his kneeling spot next to the two boys.   
"Yes, I am. I take it you're Lafayette?"   
He nodded slowly. "Yeah. Why are you, um, covered in, you know-"  
"Oh, well, it's simple. The dead smell a lot different than the living,- a lot worse- and, by covering yourself in their, uh," she hesitated," _entrails_ , it masks your scent. They can't tell the difference, so long as you act the part."   
"That's good to know, but," Lafayette finally stood, "what do we do about Sidney? It's a question I don't want to ask, but-"  
"They'll be fine," Lea interrupted with an odd amount of confidence.   
"What do you mean? They're bitten, right?" He scoffed in disbelief.  
"They are, and what I meant to say was: I think they'll be fine. I don't plan on keeping this a secret to you, so I may as well say it here. I have the cure, and I mean that seriously. I injected it into them as soon as I could, but I still don't know if it will work. I got it from another friend that I'd been separated from-"  
"Who?"  
"-her name was Ren. And, as far as I know, Sidney is the first person- living person, that is- that she'd tested it on. Ren had tested it on plenty of walkers, which had been killed by the vaccine, as it attacks the virus, but no one who had been bitten."  
Lafayette turned his back to the pair and lowered his voice to a whisper, "But why don't we just eliminate the risk? So we can prevent their death instead of leaving it up to chance?"   
Lea gently pushed him to the side to watch the two. "Please. Sidney is almost sixteen. We're not axing their arm like someone, unfortunately, had to do to you."   
Lafayette frowned. "How would you know that they're almost sixteen?"  
"Because they've told me, and I've been keeping track of the days," Lea smiled. "Haven't they told you?"   
Regan shakily stood, helped Sidney stand, and wiped his face with his dirty sleeve. "S-So, what are we g-going to do?"   
Lea stepped up to the boy; her smile was ever plastered on her face. "Nothing."   
"W-What do you mean?" Regan's hand was tightly clasped around Sidney's.   
"I think Sidney is going to be fine. What's your name?"   
"Regan. I-"  
"How long have you known Sidney?"   
"Almost a year, why-"  
"Well, Regan, I injected Sidney with the cure, and, like I told Lafayette, I don't want to keep this a secret from any of you. I don't know for sure whether Sidney is going to survive, but this is their only hope, isn't it? So, let's all just go back to your camp like nothing had ever happened."   
Lafayette's scowl only remained. "Who said you're going with us?"   
Lea let out a small laugh. "Because I just saved Sidney's life. If you take me with you, I could potentially save all of your lives. Would you really just abandon me?"   
He softly sighed and made his way over to Lucy. "I'm sorry, Lea. That isn't like me. You can-"  
"Sidney's riding with me," Regan confidently proclaimed.   
Lafayette titled his head and continued, "-you can ride with me."   
        Lea certainly had her way with words; that, or Lafayette was way too easy to convince. She didn't think she was taking advantage of the group or would ever end up having to, but, in a way, she completely was. After all, either the whole group went with her to New York or she would go alone. Lea knew that Sidney wouldn't separate from Regan, seeing their sobby reunion, and the sole reason she sought them out was to bring them along. She'd need her way with words in the near future unless someone else was willing to do it for her.   
         When they returned, they were all, with the exception of Lea, expecting the harsh reign of Azalia's scorn; however, Lea was quite delighted with it. She now knew who she had to convince. Whether or not Azalia was actually the leader of the group didn't matter; she clearly had some power over the bunch. Then, Regan and Sidney both noticed something; it was silent, unlike the earlier calls between Regan and Sidney. The sounds of birth had stopped, which was good or bad, but the two were far too excited to see the baby to worry.   
        Only Charles, Charlotte, and Tiffany, the mother, were inside the tent. Regan held Sidney's hand and pulled them inside the crowded space, but, apparently, that was a mistake. Charlotte noticed the bite, and, within minutes, she had practically thrown Sidney out, shouting profanities that they were too shocked to understand. Azalia was on the scene even faster than Charlotte had been to create it. The baby wailed as her only response to the noise. "Damn it, calm down, Charlotte! What the hell is it?"   
"What do you mean, 'What is it'? Sidney's bitten, that's what! And he was inside the tent with baby!"  
"Excuse me?" Azalia sharply turned to Sidney, who had been harshly thrown to the ground. "Sidney?"   
Lafayette rushed up to his sister and gently grabbed her arm. "Let me- Let Lea explain."   
"Lea? Who's Lea?"   
The said woman confidently strode up to the other. " _I'm_  Lea."   
Azalia recoiled at the gore. "Jesus- And why are you-?"  
"Covered in guts? I'll explain it later, but I think calming the baby down and understanding Sidney's situation is the top priority." She flashed the same smile she had to Lafayette. "Don't you think?"   
Sidney could only stare at Lea; she was different than what they remembered.  
Regan had stuck by their side during the squabble and didn't utter a word.  
"Then, what is it? What happened?" Azalia demanded.  
Lea took off and lifted the bag she wore. "I have the cure. You can ask Sidney; they know it's real. I used it on them. They're fine; the bite remains, but the virus is gone."   
Charlotte scoffed, but Azalia wore a blank face. "Go on."  
Lea lowered her hand. "I can't. There's nothing more to say."   
"Do you really believe this?" Charlotte broke in. "Well?"  
Azalia turned back to Sidney. "It doesn't matter whether I believe it or not. We can't just turn her away, and, if Sidney does end up infected, we'll do what we have to do; no big deal. So, just calm down."   
Sidney and Regan mirrored each other's frowns. "I'm sure she didn't mean it like that, Sid," He reassured them.   
They took his hand and pulled themselves up. "Yeah. Thanks, R."   
"We should probably go and let Azalia and Lea figure things out," Regan suggested. "You still have that drawing pad, right?"   
Sidney nodded and self-consciously touched their bite wound. "Yeah. I guess I'll just draw until everything blows over."   
        Regan grasped Sidney's hand, who lovingly did the same, and they both walked away from the scene together after everyone had dissipated. Things would get better, even if Lea had changed. Things would get better, even if she ended up taking over, and it would get better for the others, even if they did really die.


	28. Addiction

      The hallway was wide and dark, much too dark for them to see with their naked eye, which was why all three of them were huddled close together and dependent upon a single torch. The stench and the peculiar crunch of their footsteps made them uncertain if they even wanted to know what was in front of them, but look they certainly did. Books, carts, and chairs were scattered throughout the walkway; books laid open with their pages torn, and carts and chairs were toppled over and broken. The building, a library, in which they walked was completely still and silent.  
"This is disgusting," Regan muttered, lifting his foot to avoid stepping on a corpse.   
"This was your idea, Regan. You saw the light," Azalia said as she knocked on a locked door.  
"I know, I know, but do you really think there are people here? We should've brought Lea with us, just in case. She's pretty good with a gun, right?"   
Azalia loudly cleared her throat. "Can I have the flashlight?"  
They wordlessly passed it over.   
Regan rested a hand on Sidney's shoulder. "Are you alright, Sid? You're not usually this quiet."   
They smiled up at him and put their own hand over his. "I'm fine, R. Thanks."   
The woman merged back into the group from off to the side. "What exactly did you see, Regan?"   
The boy looked around in thought for a moment. "It was a like a flashlight, but it was moving too quickly for me to see anything else."  
"Are you sure you're not just going insane? I'm surprised it's taken this long," Sidney chuckled.   
"I know what I saw. And what if there are people here? We wouldn't just leave them, would we?"   
Azalia sighed. "This is a waste of time."  
Sidney stretched their arms and whispered off-to-the-side, "It's not like we have anything better to do."   
"What we should be doing is getting the hell out of Indiana," she snapped.   
"Why are you in such a rush? What exactly are we all going to do in New York? And-" Sidney suddenly stopped, and a grave expression replaced their amused one.  
"Sidney? Is something wrong?" Regan questioned; he had immediately noticed their change in demeanour.  
They gently ran their hand over their bite scar before answering, "I'll talk to you about it when we get back to camp."  
        Regan didn't know why, but the words they spoke instilled the same fear he felt when the two were separated only a week before. Perhaps it was because he always expected the worst. More specifically, Regan was reminded of the note he left in their tent that morning. Sidney hadn't said anything about it. He hoped that they just hadn't found it; that would be far better than receiving a rejection.  
"We should just head back. There's no point in this, and whoever you saw is probably here for a reason," Azalia grumbled.   
"But what if they're- I dunno- lost, alone?"  
"Maybe they don't want to be found. Maybe they want to be lost and away from the world."  
"Deep," Sidney commentated.  
"It's not deep, you're just a teenager," the woman corrected.  
Sidney frowned and feigned emotional distress before practically jumping on top of Regan and shouting, "Fuck!" at the sound of a bullet hitting the wall behind them.   
Regan protectively wrapped his arms around them. "What the hell was that?"  
        Azalia wasted no time in wordlessly pulling the two boys behind a bookshelf that had fallen to the ground and split in half. The fact that the stranger could see in this immense darkness worried her. She could hardly see her hands if she held them in front of her face, much less get that close to shooting someone. The worst part was that they only had knives. She shook her head as she realized that Regan was right. They should have asked Lea to come along.   
"Who's there?" An unfamiliar voice called out. "And how many of you are there?"  
"There are only three of us," Azalia responded.   
"Five of us. Names?" They heard a shuffling and footsteps.   
"Azalia, Sidney, and Regan," she answered.   
The echoes stopped. "Did you say Sidney?"  
"I did. Why?" Azalia peeked over the edge of the bookshelf, only to be met with the barrel of a rifle pressed right up against her forehead.   
"I think one of you will be delighted to meet someone here." The stranger backed up a few steps. "Stand. All of you."  
They did as they were told, but Azalia spoke up, "And who are you?"  
"I'm Elizabeth. My friends just call me Eliza. Which one of you is Sidney?"  
They bravely stepped out from behind Azalia and wrinkled their nose in annoyance. " _I'm_  Sidney. Why does it matter?"  
        The woman smiled, but it was neither mocking or loving. The only way they could explain it was, perhaps, victorious? She raised her gloved hand, tugged on her navy skarf, and shouted into the darkness, "You can come out now. I don't think they're going to try anything." As soon as those footsteps echoed through the builing, everything seemed to grow still. Sidney held their breath; Azalia stood behind them, alert and ready, and Regan tightly gripped Sidney's shoulders as if they were his lifeline.  
        And there she stood; her long, white, and bloodstained lab coat, her dark, firescarred skin, her wide grin, and her bent and broken glasses were only visible by the light of the torch that Azalia held. Ren was unarmed; something that Sidney knew was a good thing. They wouldn't be surprised if she was bitter over what they had done. The doctor bent forward so as to see Sidney's face better. Her smile faded, and all she asked was, "And where's Hailey? I figured he wasn't the type to leave you behind, but what do I know?"  
"He's dead," Sidney muttered. "Andre killed him and burned his body."  
Ren sneered. "He killed my entire family. I wouldn't give two shits if they crucified him." She straightened her back and cleared her throat. "You don't need to tell me about what happened. I know. I saw. But I do want to know something."  
Sidney had to gather what was left of their courage to ask, "And what's that?"  
"Where's Lea? She has the _bag,_ doesn't she?"  
"You mean the cure?" Azalia interrupted.  
Elizabeth's neutral expression quickly morphed into a devastated one. "The what? The _cure?_ What do you mean?"  
Ren turned to the woman and sighed. "Just be quiet." She then turned back to the three. "Lea told you what it was?"  
"Of course she did," Sidney confidently stated. "You didn't tell your group?"  
Dr. Winters turned from them. "Just take me to your camp or whatever you have set up. I think I need to have a little chat with her."  
        The three didn't really have much of a choice in the matter; after all, they were being held at gun point the entire time. Sidney couldn't tell if she was hung up on being abandoned or if she just wanted the cure, but they were sure of one thing, knowing Ren and Lea: there would be a fight. The two of them were alike in many ways, so it wouldn't take much imagination to figure out the end of their plight. Even Azalia knew what was happening. From her point of view, her leadership was being threatened, and she wasn't too happy about that.   
        Ren called the rest of her group, which were three other women and a man. Sidney recognized the man, and they were sure that the man recognized them. Who could forget the face of his wife's accidental killer? Sidney knew that they would have a 'chat' with Mark similar to the one that was about to ensue. There Lea stood, stepping out from within the group. Her expression remained neutral; although, seeing as she had her weapon drawn, she knew Ren's intentions, but Lea decided to be a big girl and use her words instead. "Ren? It's nice to finally see you again after the fire," Lea began.  
Ren strode up to her; her own weapon was held behind her back. "If there's one thing I've learned about you from the time that we spent together, it's that you're a good liar."  
"Liar? What did I ever lie to you about?"  
"Right before the fire started, you told me that Sidney had the bag. They didn't. You did, and you knew you did. Why?" Ren questioned; this question wasn't to intimidate Lea. She genuinely wanted to know.  
"Why not? Wouldn't you?"  
Ren tightened her grip on her gun. "Were you planning on just leaving us?"  
Lea had remained surprisingly calm or, at least, far more calm than Ren was. "Of course not. I looked for you and the others for as long as I could, but I had to move on eventually."  
"Do you know who died in that fire, Lea? Everyone except us that are here now, and you didn't even bother to find us."  
"I did look, but I-"  
"But you what? How exactly do you explain that you'd rather let us die than spill some measly liquid?"  
"Jesus, Ren! I thought you all had died!"   
         "You're such a goddamn liar," Ren whispered, raised her weapon, and pulled the trigger. No one moved. Ren's arm fell to her side, and she simply stared at the backpack that was still hung on Lea's shoulders. She didn't stoop to pick it up, nor did she even touch it. She just stared at it. Azalia ripped the rifle out of Eliza's hands and ran forward, and, right before she smashed the end of it onto the back of Ren's head, Ren whispered again, "I'm sorry."  
  
And that's when everything cut out to black.


	29. Saviour

       That was it. That was their final straw. They were finally going to leave after many failed attempts of trying to convince themselves not to. They had wanted to for a while, even back when they had still lived in Three Spires, but Lea's death made the decision. There was nothing left for them; not here, at least. They wanted to go back home. They would go alone if it really came down to it, but they had a feeling it wouldn't. They had a feeling that someone would go with them, even though that person knew very well that it was dangerous for just the two of them, and that feeling soon proved to be true.  
        The night was cold and quiet. Sidney had told Regan of his plans during the day, but he understood. He took that time alone with Sidney to tell them that he loved them and that he was all too eager to go with them. He told them of the note he left in their tent and that they must've overlooked it, and Sidney was overjoyed. They loved him, too. They made sure that this is what he wanted to do, but Regan was hellbent on staying by their side. Regan had watch duty tonight, and that was when they were going to make their move.  
        They were going to take one of the horses with them. Not Lucy, of course; they both knew how much Lafayette would miss her. Sidney decided to take Lea's gun with them to serve as a reminder, and Regan had the responsibility of packing a few things for their trip. He said that he wanted to do it, just to make sure that they really got everything they needed; it was obvious that that wasn't the reason, but Sidney trusted him. They knew that he didn't want to leave behind everyone he's ever known since this all began and that he wanted to spend as much time as he could around the others before they had to leave.  
        Sidney remembered Regan saying that Tiffany had been like a mother to them, and he considered Jo a little sister. That was nearly all they could think about while they prepared. If that truly was the case, Regan either really loved them or felt bad for them- pitied them for Lea's death. Or maybe he didn't want them to go alone, which they had never experienced before unlike himself. Maybe he loved them enough to do such a terrible thing to himself; to have to go through leaving the ones you care for behind again. Whatever the reason was, Sidney was grateful to know that he chose them.  
        And they left. They weren't going to New York, as was the original plan the group had, where Lea was certain they needed to go to better use the cure. Now that Ren had killed Lea, she would likely be the one to lead the group there. Both Ren and Lea had spoken of going to New York even before the fire. Everyone was on board, and her plans had doubtful changed. Instead, after receiving Regan's approval, they two were going to Kentucky, where, Sidney explained, their aunt lived. They were sure she was dead, like all the others, but they wanted to go there and be someplace familiar to them; someplace close to them.  
"So, which side is she on? Mother's or Father's?" Regan asked.  
"She's on my mother's side. Her name's Mary. My mother and Mary were twins." Sidney smiled.  
Regan chuckled at their odd smile. "Do you have any cousins?"  
"No, um- Mary was a nun."   
"Really? That's cool. Do you know what it's like?"   
They rubbed the back of their neck in thought. "No, not really. We've only had short visits, but me and my brother used to go see her all the time."   
"Are we going there? Wherever she lived?"  
Sidney held him tightly from behind as he kicked the horse into a canter. "Do you want to? It would be nice to see that place again."  
"Yeah, it would be nice to actually be in a monastery before I die."  
They frowned and hit him lightly. "Don't say that."  
He laughed. "Do they have peacocks? I heard they keep peacocks."  
"Yes, they have peacocks, R. Why are you so interested in this place?"  
"I don't know." He glanced back at them and smiled. "This might sound kinda weird, but religion has always been fascinating- is that the right word?- to me. I'm not religious myself; it's just, well, the fact that it exists, I guess."  
Sidney rested their head on his back. "That's cool. Do you know what fascinates me?"  
"Hm?" Regan hummed in response.  
"This isn't going to sound weird; it _is_ weird, but the seasons fascinate me. You know, winter, fall, summer, and stuff."  
"So, in a general way of putting it, the spinning of the earth?"  
"Yes, the spinning of the earth."  
His grin grew. "That's not weird. Someone else had to be fascinated by it, or we wouldn't know what they are today, right?"  
They snuggled closer to him. "Right."  
        And they traveled, having short, random conversations about whatever happened to cross their mind, but they were usually about each other's past, particularly Regan's. Sidney learned that Regan had a younger sister named Chloe, but she had been bitten in the early stages of the epidemic. He told them that he still thinks of her quite a bit. He had an older sister, Mikayla, who was in college at the time. He never saw her again. Sidney told Regan more about Kegan, Maria, and Joseph, who he was more than familiar with. Maria was the one Sidney shied from talking about, which Regan certainly didn't ignore. So, he was going to get it out of them, even if it made them uncomfortable. You can't just keep it bottled inside yourself; you have to talk about it sometime.  
"Maria? That's a pretty name. She's your mother right?" Regan asked.  
"Uh, yeah.. She was."  
Regan leaned back into Sidney's embrace. "Do you, you know, want to talk about it?"  
They sighed. "Not really."  
"You can tell me. You can't just-" He paused to find the right word. "-do that to yourself. It's only hurting you more if you don't let go, and I- I don't want to see you hurt."  
"I have let go. I don't care. I just don't want to talk about it, R.; wouldn't you know?"  
He leaned forward and shifted in the saddle. "No. I don't really know. I always confided in people because I knew it was better for me, but it's fine."  
"Maybe later, R. Sorry."  
"I may not understand being silent, but I understand being hurt." He looked back and grinned at them. "It's okay."  
"Thanks," Sidney whispered.  
Regan slowed 'Anna,' as he had named the horse, to a walk. "How close were we to exiting Indiana when we left?" He pointed to the right. "Because we're in Kentucky now."  
They sat up. "I don't know. Probably pretty close."  
"Do you think there's a stop nearby? Those places have maps, right? We should probably get one before we get lost."  
Sidney sighed. "Probably. I'll stay out here with Anna if you find one."  
Regan slouched in disappointment at Sidney's suddenly melancholy attitude. "Are you sure you're okay?"  
"I just want to get there soon. It's not that far, but a map would help."  
"Why did you decide to leave? You never told me the exact reason."  
"I guess I don't have reason for hiding it from you, do I? I thought I wanted to leave so I could go back home, but all I really want to do is find Kegan, alive or dead. I just want to see him again."  
"I wish I had the courage to do that. I would've gone looking for my sister by now."  
Sidney rested against his back again. "What's holding you back?"  
"It's kind of hard to explain- maybe, I don't really know. I just don't want to be by myself anymore."  
"Then why'd you come? Why didn't you just stay with the others?"  
"I came because now, maybe, I _can_ look for her. Now that I'm away from a group but not alone, either."  
"Yeah, we'll look for her. Where did you say she last was?"  
"We're all from Louisiana. She went to college there. That's where I saw her last."  
"Do you think she's moved on since then?"  
"Yeah, she probably has. That's why I'm afraid to look for her. I'm afraid I'll never find her or she'll be dead when I do find her."  
"At least you'll know what happened to them, right? I feel like that's a lot better than not knowing."  
Regan sighed. "I guess. I mean, sometimes it's better just not knowing when you would otherwise live happily."  
Sidney propped their chin up on his shoulder. "But would you? Would you live happily not knowing?"  
"I don't really know. Maybe. I'm fine not knowing now, but, now that we're actually talking about it, I don't know."  
"Do you want to see her again?"  
"Of course I do, Sidney!"  
"Then we'll look for her. If we get to Kentucky, and everyone is dead, we'll move on."  
"What about Kegan? What if we never find him?"  
"We'll move on anyway. We'll move wherever suits our goals, and, if we can't complete them, we'll just move on to another one." Sidney hesitated but had seemed pleased with their answer.  
        Regan didn't say anything back. The two rode on in silence, stopping every once in a while to let Anna graze or to do something themselves; that is, until they came across something- a building. The building that Regan had asked of; the building that would undoubtedly have a map they so needed. So, he urged Anna in that direction and left Sidney with the horse, which they offered to do, to go in, accompanied only by his knife. The door was barricaded from the inside with a rope which was tied through and around the two door handles multiple times. The glass door was foggy with dust, but he could just barely see through smeared hand prints adorning the door with their desperation for escape.  
        He didn't see anything moving from inside, but he did see the stand on which brochures and maps once laid. Most of them were gone, and most of the ones remaining had fallen off and onto the black-and-white checkered floor. He could faintly see the entrances to the bathrooms and another door on the other side of the building, but it had been tied shut just like the one he stood in front of. There were no windows, and the building was extremely small. The only things he could salvage from this place were the maps; he just needed to get in.  
        First, he tried the end of his knife, which had a sharp point on the end designed to break glass, but it only cracked the barrier. He tried it again and again, harder each time, and it wasn't long until the glass shattered and shards of the material scattered. A few pieces landed and embedded themselves into his skin, and a few cut him as they flew by. He wiped away blood from his cheek. "Be careful, R.!" Sidney advised from atop their horse.  
"I know. I'm trying."  
        Regan cautiously and slowly stepped through the opening and had to lean back to avoid slitting something open on large, sharp edges that stuck out mere inches away from his skin. He was in. He didn't bother checking the bathrooms; both with the assumption of it being barren of anything he needed and with the fear that he would see something horrible, like a mangled corpse being feasted upon by a walker who was too preoccupied with devouring the rotting mass to bother itself with the sound of the glass door being smashed. Before he grabbed some of the maps, a few extra just in case, Regan untied the handles of the door and kept the rope with the hope that it would be useful.  
        Everything was silent, and it made him think of how many people- living people- would've been here had everything stayed the same. It made him think of just how much he missed the world, faulted as it was even then, but it also made him think of how lucky he was to be part of the ones that were still alive. Regan took one last look around the empty, solemn building and left to join Sidney and Anna who waited for him just outside.  
        They were off again. Sidney offered to hold the map with the claim that Regan needed to focus on, "driving," rather than the truth that they just wanted it to draw on. It was a good thing he had the foresight of bringing extras. Sidney didn't seem to notice the rope he brought along or, at least, didn't care about it, but they did notice his cuts from the glass. They knew he had backed a small bundle of bandages, but, when they suggested cleaning and wrapping his injures, Regan wrote it off and suggested that they both wait for an emergency when they would really need it. "The bleeding has slowed down already, and it doesn't hurt much, anyway," was Regan's accepted defense.  
        It wasn't until the sun began to set that Sidney finally realized that they were almost there; everything around them was so familiar. Regan had wanted to stop long ago, but Sidney urged that they needed to find the building before they could stop. They were close, and Regan trusted them enough to keep going. It wasn't long before Sidney saw it. It looked exactly like how they remembered it; a large, red brick building adorned with a golden cross right above the wooden double doors that concealed the inside of the monastery. It wasn't exactly much to look at for others, perhaps, but to Sidney it was possibly the most beautiful thing they'd ever seen, even in the shadowy veil of night.  
        They both dismounted Anna, and first Sidney was unsure of what to do. They tried the handle of the door first, but it was locked, which surprised them a little, despite the being a high chance that it had been locked before this and had stayed locked. Then Sidney knocked, once, twice, and even a third time, and what surprised them most was that it opened.


	30. Trickster

       It wasn't like she cared that they did it or that she even cared for them, but it did make her wonder if she was this bad of a person- if she deserved being left behind. She was doing what she thought she needed to do, even if she knew it wasn't exactly right; who were they to judge? No one is innocent, not anymore. She was going to New York to find a way to fix the mess the world plunged itself into, and she would go with or without a group; they would just get in her way. But something was off when she was trying to convince herself of this.  
       Ren found herself _wanting_ to reject going off alone; she wanted someone with her, not for protection like Lea had, but she wanted someone with her for companionship. She'd never felt guilt for doing something she thought was necessary, but, as she thought about it more, she felt wrong for once- she felt wrong for killing Lea. It was the same feeling she felt when she realized Hailey and Sidney had abandoned her; the sinking pit of despair that sits in waiting and only grows and grows until it makes you want to cower in fear of what comes next when it finally reaches its peak; it forces shaking tremors of sobs through your aching body until the pressure grows too heavy, and it makes it feel as if your chest will burst.  
        It was only after that that Ren wished she hadn't killed Lea. She was nothing short of ashamed of herself. She knew that, if anyone, Sidney wouldn't want to be alone; Ren supposed that was why the other boy went with them- what was his name? Regan? Whatever. She knew what she was becoming, and she hated it. She was becoming a monster- a murderous, terrible monster, and she detested it.  
        Ren knew it was because of herself; she had manufactured the serum, and greed and misplaced heroism took over. That was why she was going to prove herself. She was going to go after Sidney and prove that she wanted to make amends. If the others wanted to take the cure and go to New York themselves, so be it. It'll only be a matter of time before they become depraved animals who'd murder a child to get to their goal, and, finally, this time, it wouldn't have to be her.  
        The woman who answered the door was a stranger, which Sidney hoped she wouldn't be. She wore the clothing of a nun, so she was no doubt part of the group of people they were looking for, but they thought they would, at least, recognise something about her. With all the time they had spent there with Kegan and with all the time they had spent around the monastery, the person standing in front of them was one they had never seen before. As such, Sidney was immediately on guard, and Regan recognised their tension and took the hint that something was wrong.  
        The woman didn't speak for nearly a minute, only staring at the two with a half-opened mouth. Then, she stuttered over her next words, "Uh- uh, um, hello. I- uh, sorry, sorry! It's just- we've never-"  
"It's okay," Regan uncertainly reassured her. "Um, so, what's your name? I'm Regan, by the way."  
"Sidney," they curtly stated.  
"I'm- I'm Rachelle, but you can just call me Rachel, I suppose." She smiled brightly and eagerly held out her hand.  
Regan shook the girl's hand, but Sidney still hesitated, even when they were greeted with such a cheerful attitude. "It's nice to meet you, Rachel."  
"Oh, it's wonderful to meet both of you!" Rachelle stepped to aside and gestured inward. "Please, come in and rest." She shut the door and locked it after they stepped inside. "We don't see people often anymore, but that's pretty obvious isn't it?" Rachel let out a nervous laugh. "Sorry if I talk a bit much, I do that when I'm excited."  
Regan forced a small smile. "It's alright; I'm sure-"  
"Is anyone else here?" Sidney roughly interrupted; they passed Regan an apologetic glance afterwards.  
Rachel shook her head. "Not right now. The others are out; they leave in search of survivors in hopes of bringing them here, and they leave me to look after the place because they say I'm too young to leave, for now. They went further south today, so don't be surprised that you missed them. Would you like some tea?"  
"You have tea here?" Regan asked.  
"Have a seat," Rachelle gestured towards a small, gritty table and a few small chairs. "And, yes, we stockpiled the day this happened. Of course, our supplies are low now, but we get by. Tea?"  
Regan slowly sat. "Sure. Sidney?"  
"I guess," they muttered as they slunk into one of the chairs.  
The other boy harshly elbowed their side. "Thanks, uh, Rachel. Most people aren't as nice as you."  
"Of course. It's only the right thing to do. Anyway, how do you two know each other?"  
Sidney cast a desperate look to Regan, but he didn't know exactly how to interpret it. "We were actually-"  
"Our groups ran into each other some time ago," Sidney interrupted, again. "It's just us now."  
Rachelle slouched slightly. "That's it?"  
Regan glanced at Sidney. "Y-Yeah. Yeah, that's it."  
Rachelle drank some of her own tea. "Well, I'm glad you're here, anyway." She at them and smiled. "You'll be safe now."  
"When are the others supposed to be back?" Sidney crossed their arms defiantly.  
"I'm not really sure. Maybe later today. Are you, well, planning on staying? I mean, it's no trouble, really; I just want to know if you need a room- rooms," Rachelle hurriedly explained. "We have plenty. There's not that many of us, after all, and this place was built for much more than that."  
"Only after we-"  
Regan kicked Sidney's leg and answered himself, "Thank you, again, Rachel. That'd be great."  
Rachelle nodded and smiled. "Stay here. I'll get your rooms ready."  
The boy half-stood from his seat. "Do you need help? It's all we can really offer."  
        She smiled again- that small, already familiarly bright smile of hers, nodded, and walked away, disappearing down the long, dark hallway lined with boarded windows and closed, locked doors. When Rachelle had left the room, it immediately fell silent. Regan wanted to speak to Sidney about this, but he had a feeling that they wouldn't be an avid listener. He became aware of a ticking noise and, upon looking behind himself, noticed a large grandfather clock resting beside a desk cluttered with a heap of books and papers. Rachelle and whoever she was with must read quite a bit. There were, of course, Bibles, but they were set to the side of the fray. He also suddenly became aware of how dark the room was; the only thing guarding them against being immersed in complete darkness were well-placed groups of candles. The nostalgic smell made him smile; that was, until Sidney said this, "We can't stay here, Regan."   
        They only ever used his real name when they were either worried or scared. Even when Sidney was somehow angry with him, they always used his nickname. That was why he turned around from taking in the sight of the homely room to look at Sidney and simply ask, "Why?"  
"They're going to come looking for us, aren't they? I mean, with them thinking of you as family and all."  
Regan rested a hand on their shoulder. "We'll just stay here, then. Even if they did come looking for us, what are the odds that they'd actually find us?"  
Sidney looked down into their steaming cup of tea. "Yeah, I guess so. And-" They sighed before continuing, "-I'm sorry."  
"For what?"   
"For making you leave." They glanced over at him.   
He lightly, albeit awkwardly, kissed the other's cheek. "I already told you I wanted to go with you, didn't I? You didn't make me do anything."  
"Yeah. Thanks, R."  
        Even though the conversation had lasted but a few minutes, Sidney felt relieved to have spoken with him- that was the effect Regan had on them; he was a calming, reassuring presence to Sidney, and it faintly reminded them of their brother. Everything that had happened to get here seemed, to Regan, worth every second as he tightly held the hand of the other. Neither of them had noticed Rachelle enter, and she quietly slunk into a seat next to Sidney and rested her hand on their arm. "Where did you get this scar?" Rachelle asked, tracing her fingers over the bite mark.  
Sidney quickly jerked their arm away and shoved their sleeves back down. "It's nothing."  
"They were attacked," Regan offered as an excuse. "By another person."  
"Really?" Rachelle folded her hands in her lap. "And they bit him?"  
"Yeah, they did. They were crazy- not really much of a surprise," Sidney answered.  
"They must've bitten you pretty hard then, huh? How long ago was it? It couldn't have been one of _them_ because you're still, well, conscious, right?"  
"Right," they finished.  
"And these are fire scars, right? I've never seen them actually on a person in real life before, only in pictures, so I do know what they look like. Are they, really?"  
"Yeah, they are. I was in a forest fire," Sidney mumbled and drank some of their tea.  
Rachelle suddenly jumped up. "I just remembered that you two had brought a horse! Will it be okay out there? We don't exactly have a place for one, but I'm sure we could do something if it were a problem."  
"Shit," Regan whispered. He got up from his place at the table and opened the door a bit. He couldn't see Anne's shadowy shape, and he couldn't hear anything- not even the shuffling of walkers.  
"Is it okay?" Rachelle asked from within.  
Regan sighed and closed the door. "She's gone."  
"Dead?"  
"No, gone. She just.. ran away, I guess."  
"Damn," Sidney sighed.  
"Do you think she knows to go back to the others?" Regan took one last look before shutting the door.  
"Who knows? I doubt it."  
Rachelle stood. "Um, are "the others" a problem?"  
Sidney finished their tea. "No, they're not. Don't worry about it."  
"Alright. Well, um, your rooms are ready. That's what I came in here to tell you, but I guess I just got distracted. Sorry." She smiled good-heartedly and a little apologetically. "Oh, and, about the others- the ones that are coming later-, they should probably be here by morning, when you wake up. Don't worry about them; I'm sure they'll be fine."  
Sidney curtly stood from their seat. "Thanks for the tea."  
"Your room is down the hallway and to the right. There'll be three doors; the room is the one on the far right." Rachelle picked up both of the tea cups. "There are two beds inside, so you both can sleep in that one room, if that's okay with you."  
Sidney had already begun making their way down the hallway, even before she had finished her phrase, but Regan remained to say, "Thanks, again, Rachel. I'm sorry for Sidney. They're only like this when meeting new people; don't let them bother you." He smiled.  
She laughed a bit. "It's fine. I understand." Rachelle put her hands on the cluttered desk and leaned back. "Um, I'll stay up a little longer, in case they turn up. Sleep well."  
"You too, Rachel."  
        When he had gotten to the room, Sidney looked like they were already asleep. Regan smiled as he looked down at them, but he stepped back and drowsily sat on the edge of the mattress. A sudden tiredness overcame him; his vision slowly became blurred, and, as he tried to stand, his legs weakened under the pressure and threw him back to the mattress. Regan could only groan in confusion as he limply fell forward onto the ground. Sidney still lay motionless in bed. He tried to push himself up and make his way to Sidney's bed, but his arms possessed no strength. He could hardly even feel the wooden floor under his nails that he clawed so desperately at. The last thing he heard were quick footsteps running towards the door, and the last thing he saw was Rachelle slowly entering the room.


End file.
